Saving Souls
by LilithiaRW
Summary: A mask can hide both the truth and lies... An old friend of Sakura's is back, and reveals to her the dark secrets of Konoha. Together, they will unravel the web of lies shrouding Konoha and its clans after so many years. Itachi was their only witness. Can the village finally find redemption? Full summary inside.
1. A Dying Man Does Not Wait For Anyone

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.**

** I am so excited to start this story! I hope you all are as well; please give it a chance.**

**Full Summary: An old friend of Sakura's is back, revealing to her the dark truths of Konoha. Together they will unravel the mysteries surrounding their village, with Itachi as their only witness. But there are powerful enemies lurking in the shadows, even in Konoha, who will stop at nothing to prevent the truth from coming to light. A battle begins, and for the redemption of many, and the sake of Konoha, defeat is not an option.**

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><p><em>Chapter One- A Dying Man Does Not Wait For Anyone<em>

She watched as a tall man in an orange mask bent down to pick up the youngest of the brothers. His deadly aura, chakra like black tar choking the air in the surrounding area, warding off even the most hard-core ninja.

Guess that made her fucking retarded.

And yet still she came. Standing far away so that he wouldn't sense her meant that the people she was watching were mere specks in the distance, yet with her enhanced eyesight, she saw them with a zoomed-in sight.

She waited until the mysterious Akatsuki member known as Tobi disappeared with a limp Uchiha Sasuke in his arms.

Tobi.

Oh she had her speculations on who this 'Tobi' really was. Her spy network had reported enough information for her to realize this man was not at all what he seemed. Most sources of such valuable information were dead, naturally.

So why she was here, why she had watched the brothers battle with a twisting in her gut that she was steadfastly ignoring was beyond her. Because she knew that in the view of Konoha, she had been rooting for the wrong one. And when his body fell, she couldn't stop herself from flinching.

_Thud._

The echo of dead flesh hitting solid ground was nothing new to her, so it shouldn't have bothered her.

Yet it did.

Accompanied by that twisting sharp pain in her chest that _did not happen_ because, of course, she was ignoring it.

Drawing a kunai and pricking her palm, her hands sped through the seals in a blur. A small cloud of smoke accompanied the arrival of a miniature panther, its body too long and its fur too sleek to be that of a domesticated cat. Its head was flat, maw broad, whiskers long from wilderness, a powerful tail twitching patiently as gold eyes surveyed the scene. A low rumble emanated from deep within its breast, large paws unsheathing razor claws in response as the petite panther drew back its lips in a feral grin as it scented the blood on the wind.

It drew itself up level with her mid-thigh; the creature was the smallest yet swiftest of her animal allies. The creature didn't keep its mistress waiting for long, unlike what it or its brethren would have done to anyone else. He knew this woman demanded respect.

"My Lady." He rumbled in an inhuman voice, a mixture between a man's deep bass and a cat's purr or growl.

She dipped her head in response.

"I need you to retrieve an ally of mine and bring her to this location immediately. This cannot wait." She ordered.

The panther, usually unwilling to listen to orders by nature, merely nodded curtly. After all, she wouldn't have summoned him if she did not need something done as fast as possible.

"Bring this person here without delay. I don't care if she's busy, you find her, and you drag her here if you must." His mistress ordered. "A man's life depends on this."

"I understand." The panther now realized why the smell of blood was so prominent as he glanced at a body lying limply in the distance, the residue of undeniably malicious power still fading in the vicinity of the battle. It had been a vicious battle, he could tell that much, the remaining power crackled in the air and made his coat stand on end.

"And this ally's name?" he asked.

"Haruno Sakura." The woman answered. "She will be in Konoha."

_[~*~*~*]_

Sakura wiped her brow as she left the room, stripping off her scrubs. The smell of blood hit her nose and even though she was used to the smell, this time it made her stomach turn violently. The pink-haired medic paused and placed a hand against the wall to steady herself.

How odd. Looking out the nearest window, Sakura noted the dark clouds and a barely audible thunder rolling in the distance that only her ninja-trained ears could hear. Another wave of nausea hit her and she immediately was overwhelmed by a sense of foreboding.

Sakura went to her office, grabbing a cup of coffee as she passed the lounge. Drinking the coffee, Sakura did something she didn't normally do, and opened up her mini fridge and went back to the lounge to actually _cook _a _meal_. She had a feeling she'd be needing the strength.

After she finished lunch, earning some stares from a couple nurses who only ever saw her eat soldier pills, she went back to her office and for once, she ignored the pile of papers and files on her desk. Instead she hung up her doctor coat and ran home, not even checking if she had anything else to do that day.

Upon entering her apartment, Sakura took a shower and began dressing in her ninja outfit, and packing-slash-hiding more weapons than usual. Sakura had had the forethought to bring some extra-medical supplies home, and soon her medic pack was twice as large as it usually was when she went on missions.

Then she left for the Hokage Tower.

_[~*~*~*]_

Tsunade looked up as her door opened after only one knock. Only her apprentices ever dared that, and such narrowed the identity of the person entering her office down to two. And when a head full of pink hair entered her vision, well, naturally it narrowed it down to only one. After all, Tsunade had been to many places in her life away from Konoha, and she was pretty sure Sakura was the only person she'd ever met with naturally pink hair.

Her youngest apprentice shut the door behind her, and Tsunade frowned worriedly at the amount of medical supplies and weapons she saw on Sakura.

"Going somewhere?" she asked sternly.

Sakura gave her a serious look. "I just… I don't know how to explain this to you…" she ran her fingers frustrated through her hair.

Tsunade raised her eyebrows, slightly furrowed, and waited for Sakura to make a coherent sentence.

"I've had this feeling all day." Sakura finally stated.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "Go on." She snapped. Why was she getting a bad feeling about this?

"I've felt like something bad was going to happen… no, not something bad, just… something important… no that's not right either…" Sakura began to grumble.

Tsunade immediately knew what Sakura was describing. After all, was she feeling it now as well? Thunder rolled as black clouds approached the village, and a strange, dark feeling slithered up the Hokage's spine.

"I understand." Tsunade interrupted.

Sakura gave her a relieved look. "I figured I should be prepared."

Tsunade eyed the Sakura's outfit, seeing well concealed weapons with her experienced and well-trained eyes. "Even on some of your S-class missions I haven't seen you so… prepared for a war. Or brain surgery. At the same time." The Hokage stated in a disbelieving voice.

Sakura gave her a sheepish smile, though it hinted worry. Tsunade wondered what was going to happen. Something that wasn't bad, but neither good.

Just then, a particularly loud thunder clap signaled the arrival of the storm, accompanied by a loud, feral roar that announced his presence. It ended just as the sound of the thunder faded, and to anyone else, the roar would have gone unnoticed.

Except Sakura and Tsunade.

The Hokage stood quickly from her desk and opened her window, a cold, moist blast of air sweeping into the office, foretelling the coming of rain. Tsunade stepped back quickly as a black blur shot into the room, landing gracefully in the middle of the office, tail snapping back and forth in an agitated manner.

A small black panther regarded to kunoichis with wild, calculating eyes that intimidated even Tsunade. Strong muscles rippled with dangerous beauty under a flat coat, golden eyes snapping between Sakura and Tsunade.

"I am here for Haruno Sakura." His voice shocked the women, sounding like a human bass voice and a growl were somehow meshed together in a terrifying sound. "My mistress requires your service immediately to save a man's life. We leave now."

Tsunade was immediately angered at the demanding tone of the relatively small panther, who was still large enough to eat a child whole. And because said panther was large enough to eat a child whole and probably maim _her_, Tsunade kept her mouth closed.

Sakura stepped forward. "I am Sakura." She said quickly, snapping into medic mode at the thought of a life in danger. "Who is your mistress?"

"Look at the symbol on your back and you will know. We are allies of the white ring." The panther said brusquely, obviously in a hurry. "Now. We leave."

Sakura hesitated before her eyes lit up in recognition of what the panther had said and nodded. "Tsunade?"

Tsunade somehow understood that this was really, really, obviously _enormously _important, and so nodded. "I'll tell the council you are on a classified solo mission. But you must report to me every day, or every other day. That's an order, Sakura." Tsunade knew the only reason why she wasn't grilling the Summon with questions as to why it was demanding spiriting her apprentice away was because a life was on the line. And Tsunade was a medic at heart; a dying man does not wait for anyone.

The pink haired young woman nodded, and turned to the panther.

"Hop on my back." It ordered, and she complied without delay.

"Aren't you a little small?" Sakura asked as she tentatively swung her leg over one side. "I mean, you large compared to a house cat, but compared to my size, you're still a little small… I mean your only three-quarters my size." Both Sakura and Tsunade sincerely hoped this panther wasn't sensitive about its size.

The panther harrumphed, and Tsunade saw Sakura jerk as she felt the vibration of his voice between her legs.

"I'm strong enough." He crouched, muscles bunching together in preparation for a pounce out the window. "Now lean forward and bend your knees and hook you feet on my rump so they're not hanging off. Squeeze at the knees to hold on and wrap your arms around my chest."

Sakura did as she was told.

"I don't have time for any slip-ups, so you better not fall off." The panther practically growled, making its passenger wince as the growl was felt through her body.

Tsunade motioned to the open window and the Summon gave her a curt nod of thanks.

"Bring her back safe, Panther." Tsunade said, giving the animal one of her famous glares.

The panther didn't waste time answering her, and leapt out the window so fast that Tsunade's brain couldn't register its speed fast enough, only Sakura's yelp as she held on for dear life. Glancing out the window, Tsunade saw a black and pink blur disappear over the village wall far off in the distance, too fast for the guards to realize what they were seeing.

The Hokage marveled at the speed of the creature, and wondered what powerful person could be strong enough to handle such noble, headstrong creatures.

' _It said 'mistress'.'_

Tsunade felt that she would like to know this powerful woman some day. Maybe they could share a bottle of sake. Summons were often a reflection of their master, or in this case, mistress. So what kind of woman had the great panthers at her beck and call?

Then Tsunade remembered something else.

"_Who is your mistress?"_

"_Look at the symbol on your back and you will know."_

'_What does it mean?' _Tsunade reached for the pane of glass and close the window, staring out to the dark sky in thought. _'What does the Haruno symbol have to do with this? They're a civilian clan, aren't they? How does it explain the woman behind this Summon?'_

Outside the wind howled, announcing the rain, yet signaling the departure of the storm.

_[~*~*~*]_

Sakura held on for her life. Even facing missing-nins sounded more comforting than the situation she was currently in. Her muscles were screaming at being taut for so long, yet she dared not loosen them, let alone try to readjust anything if she became uncomfortable.

Wind blasted her face, and she lowered her face into the back of the panther unashamedly, if the cat had a problem with her invading its personal space, well, all she could say was that she was already riding it, so deal with it. Of course she couldn't even speak either with the wind blowing in her face with typhoon-force- A testament to the speed of the powerful creature underneath her.

With every stretch of its body she felt steel-hard muscles harden and relax, rippling beautifully under a midnight coat, and she could hear with her medic senses the sound of strong blood pumping defiantly through the cat; she would believe it if such a creature could defy death.

How Sakura wished she had the strength of the panther. Granted most panthers couldn't crush boulders with their fists (paws) or create crevasses with a hit of their heel (hind leg). But they emitted a different kind of strength, one only emphasized by their power. It was so primal, so prominent, and something fluttered in her mind that told her that she was reminded of someone. Yet _who_ she was reminded of, was beyond her grasp, a name slipping between her fingers.

The first person to make a contract with the legendary panthers in generations.

The woman who was now calling for her help.

A memory just out of grasp that could possibly reveal everything she wanted to know.

Sakura chastised her lapse in concentration as a tree branch scratched her back and surprised her. She tightened her hold on her mount and continued to watch as green and brown blurs rushed by her, an occasional leaf grazing her.

The panther leaped with unequaled precision, landing on branches that shouldn't have been able to support its weight, not to mention the added weight of Sakura, and yet leaping off the branch too fast for them to fall. The branches usually broke after the panther was already three leaps away.

Honestly, Sakura had thought ninjas made tree-hopping look easy, but the panther made it look damn _effortless_. She was pretty sure any ninja would have been jealous. Hell, _she _was jealous.

"We are almost there." A low guttural growl left the panther, the equivalent of a human panting, though the cat covered its weariness well. Even if the panther made its running and leaping look easy, Sakura knew the creature was pushing itself to its limits to reach his mistress before it was too late. Then she felt it.

The air became tainted, and to her medical experience was telling her that soon she would be smelling blood and chakra residue. Already she was seeing debris and abused trees, some drench to the core, many others burned by chakra fire. Or more specifically, a certain Fireball Jutsu.

Sakura felt her stomach clench and roll with fear.

Soon the smell of a battle, drenched with the scent of blood, was flooding her sensing, sending her medic side into awareness. Sakura sent tendrils of chakra to check for enemies, the loping of the panther underneath her strangely calming to her chakra, and she felt her panic fade, though the thought of Sasuke was still in the back of her mind.

As they drew closer to a clearing in the trees up ahead, Sakura felt her medical chakra surge through her veins in response to the smell of sweat, blood, and fire. Her mind began to focus on the task at hand, and her body began producing more chakra, knowing that the chakra it was currently filled with wouldn't last long.

Finally Sakura and the panther burst out of the trees, and Sakura saw far into the center of the battle field one lone figure. She felt nervousness prick her calm medic demeanor as the panther did not slow its speed in the least. In fact, Sakura's mount sped up at the sight of the dark figure in the distance, and Sakura's thoughts that it couldn't possibly go any faster were proven wrong.

As the figure finally came into reasonable distance, Sakura began studying her.

The figure was obviously a woman, wearing stretchy, skin-tight clothing that many of the more serious (meaning more deadly in ninja terms) shinobi wore to allow movement without the hassle of loose clothing. On top of that no doubt there were patches of thicker fabric underneath the armor that protected the more vulnerable spots of the woman's body.

Sakura noted shoulder guards that had two pointed plates that would catch a blade aimed at the much-needed joint. There were some serious wrist guards, stretching down her forearm, sharpened at the elbow for elbow-jabs. Sakura could see the two sharpened points on the shoulder guards and the jutting point of the elbow guards on the woman's silhouette from the angle the woman was standing.

Her breast plate was a dark metal, meant for hiding in the shadows. As if the breast plate had been made especially for her, the shape of the plate fit her curves, accentuating her figure. The same for the plates protecting the hips and butt (and subsequently what lay between).

As the woman turned Sakura noted that her knee guards had sharp points when she bent her knees, no doubt felling any man with a package. At this thought, Sakura couldn't help the smirk that lasted a fraction of a second.

Underneath the knee guards were the shin guards. The shin guards might have been attached to the knee guards, but even as Sakura drew closer to the woman, she couldn't tell. They were made of the same dark metal, and underneath the shin guards were leather boots that Sakura were pretty sure were solely for soundless movement.

And as Sakura took in the entire ensemble of the woman that she and the panther were approaching, Sakura knew this person meant business. Even some of the best ninja Sakura knew didn't dress quite so… severely. The armor, from its style, wasn't quite meant for a ninja, it was a mix of ninja and light-weight warrior.

Finally Sakura's eyes moved to the figure's face, and Sakura could only stare.

It was like an ANBU mask. Except, instead of white with red markings, this mask was jet black. Totally jet black. Where the mouth and nose would have been there was the faint curve of a cat's maw, and carved at the top of the mask were two delicately curved ears that look just as real as those of the panther Sakura was riding.

The woman turned entirely to face Sakura fully as the panther Sakura had been riding skidded to a stop in front of its mistress.

The pink-haired medic took a moment to stare into the eye-slits of the mask that was a perfect replica of the mammal Sakura was sitting on. The eyes slits remained dark, and Sakura wondered if they were true eye slits, or if the mask was like the ANBU masks of other villages where the eyes slits had dark film over them to keep the eyes from showing through.

Between her legs the panther rumbled his displeasure, and Sakura snapped to attention. Her muscles protested heavily as she unlocked them from their hold on the panther and she fell ungracefully off the panther.

"Oof!" Sakura rubbed the side that she had fallen on, thinking of the how disgracing the dismount had been to kunoichis everywhere.

The panther hid his look of amusement.

A gloved hand entered Sakura's line of vision, and the first thing she saw were some impressively pointed steel knuckles attached to the leather. The tips of the fingers were cut off so as not to hinder the user's fingers in tasks that required nimble hands. From the dim lighting of the dark overcast sky, Sakura could not discern the skin color of the woman from the tips of her fingers alone, other than that the woman was not deathly pale like Sai.

Sakura quickly grabbed the woman's offered hand and found herself pulled up by a surprising amount of strength.

"Quickly, he is dying." The panther behind Sakura growled in impatience in that deep bass, and Sakura's medic mode kicked in.

The medic slipped past the masked woman and went to the body the woman had been standing over, a dark cloak wrapped around the body to keep it warm, though Sakura could still see copious amounts of blood bleeding through.

Not even looking at the man's face, Sakura ripped off the cloak and threw it to the side, seeing that the woman had done an immaculate job of wrapping the wounds, and as she unwrapped the gauze, Sakura saw that the woman had also done some impressive chakra healing with the man, though the man was obviously beyond any normal medic's help, even that of the masked woman behind her.

And so the mystery woman had summoned Sakura, the only medic equal to Tsunade or Shizune that could be called away on a clandestine emergency without alerting too many people.

After all the gauze had been removed, the man's blood started flowing freely again, and Sakura swore at how fast it was leaving the body. Sakura immediately put pressure on the wounds with the gauze, holding it to staunch the bleeding while she directed her chakra around the cloth and into the flesh.

Another pair of hands began pressing gauze to where the blood was still escaping, and Sakura glanced up in surprise to see the black mask of a panther staring at her, demanding that she continue healing without delay.

Understanding, Sakura went back to work, stopping all the bleeding first, then moving to heal the rest of the body, torn ligaments, arteries, fractured and broken bones, overstressed organs and overworked and torn muscles. Normally for bones it was best for a medic to allow them to heal by themselves, but seeing as there wasn't likely going to be a hospital anywhere near that they could transport the body to without damage, Sakura went ahead and repaired them. A medic of her caliber would be able to heal the bones with too much risk to the structure.

From the fit and toned muscles she felt with her chakra, Sakura immediately recognized she was healing a shinobi. As she began to repair the chakra channels, the shinobi's own chakra began reacting to the presence of alien chakra, and Sakura had to draw back a little until the instinctive defense relaxed again.

The chakra signature was familiar somehow, yet there was too little left and the signal was so weak that Sakura couldn't place it. Filing the feeling away with all the other odd and foreboding feelings she'd had that day, Sakura felt the chakra accept hers, and delved back into the body to search and heal more.

As she scanned the lungs, Sakura's eyes snapped open in surprise and she closed them again quickly to concentrate on them.

There.

A disease.

Sakura realized this man had a lung disease, probably a long term one he had been fighting for years. But it was not what had killed him. She healed the damaged parts of the lungs a little and cleared the phlegm that had built up there, forcing some of it to be coughed out by the unconscious man so that it wouldn't resettle in the lungs. Then she turned her attention to the more prominent injuries.

A gloved hand with steel knuckles brought the tip of a cloak to wipe the man's mouth of the fluids his body was attempting to rid itself of.

Sakura sat by the man healing him for almost an hour, moving only her hands as she meticulously repaired as much as she could, starting with the most threatening injuries and working her way to the less deadly wounds. She was running low and was almost to her limits where she would have to dive into her reserves (which she only saved for self-preservation moments) when an unknown chakra carefully trickled into her hands.

Glancing down in surprise, Sakura saw the foreign chakra settle hesitantly into her hands, melding with her own. She looked up into the mask of the woman. Nodding in understanding, Sakura took the woman's chakra and began to use her own chakra to manipulate the foreign chakra.

The woman's chakra was fed slowly and deliberately; the woman obviously knew how to feed chakra to a medic: small, steady, easily regulated amounts, not large, uncontrollable blasts of chakra that would interrupt a medic's concentration. Sakura was thankful for small miracles as she worked the chakra, surprised at how long the woman was feeding her the chakra. The stranger's chakra was light and gentle, with an undercurrent of steady power. And this woman had a good amount of it too.

Finally Sakura sent waves of soothing chakra to the man's brain to put the body to sleep and allow it to recuperate by itself.

Finally finished, Sakura sat back on her heels and took a deep breath, letting it out with a shudder that she didn't bother to hide. Kami, she was _exhausted_. Sakura rubbed her eyes, cracking many stiff joints as she moved. Her calves and feet were numb from sitting and leaning over the injured shinobi, and as she moved and feeling came back to them, she winced at the uncomfortable feeling of pins and needles.

Sakura cocked her head to one side and cracked her neck, repeating the same with the other side. Then she sighed heavily.

"Thanks for helping out." She sighed again to the mysterious woman. Looking up at the dark empty eye sockets of the mask, Sakura could have sworn she sensed the woman behind the mask smile.

"Impressive." Came a deep male voice, laced with the rumble of a cat. Sakura glanced up in surprise at the panther; she had forgotten he was still there. She had a feeling it took a lot to impress a creature such as this panther, and took the compliment with the utmost respect.

The woman knelt down to pick up the cloak she had wrapped around the man's body earlier, the black fabric stained darker with blood. As she did, Sakura saw a messy brown bun on the back of her head. Brown hair. And that was all she knew of this woman.

Sighing at her situation, Sakura felt her ninja senses come back through her medically exhausted state and she took a moment to sweep her eyes over the perimeter to make sure the area was still safe. That was when a patch of red caught her eye.

Head swiveling, Sakura found herself staring in horror at the Akatsuki cloak that lay forlornly on the ground, its edges lifting off the ground whenever the wind picked up.

Her head snapped back to look into the face of the man she had just healed. A trembling hand reached for his face and she brushed strands of ebony hair away from the defining features.

His face was more stressed than the last time she had seen him, and his face was so gaunt that he looked decades older than he should have been.

'_Let's see… he's only a couple years older than Sasuke, who's the same age as me… Gosh, he's only in his twenties! He looks at least thirty!'_ And Sakura's bleeding heart couldn't help but feel sorry for the mass murderer, even if it was only for a second.

"Uchiha Itachi!" she finally managed to hiss.

She felt the panther and his mistress tense beside her. Glancing up, Sakura found a black mask watching her intently.

"I won't hurt him or turn him in." She said, quelling their fears; for her own safety.

At the sound of metal sliding out o fits sheath, Sakura swiveled into a defensive position, her own kunai held up ready to block. She found herself looking at the masked woman, who was holding a kunai to her thumb. The masked woman seemed to glance at Sakura's reactions before pricking her thumbing.

"Calm yourself, kitten." The panther rumbled sternly, though his voice showed some amusement. "My mistress does not intend to harm you in any way."

Sakura glanced at the masked woman and saw that, indeed, the woman's muscles gave no indication that she's had been readying an attack.

The silent woman began a sequence of hand seals so quickly that they were over before Sakura saw anything, and suddenly there was a large cloud of smoke that poofed in front of the woman.

Now a second panther stood in front of the masked woman, this one twice as large as the one Sakura had ridden earlier. Easily as tall as Sakura when it was on all four feet, the panther's back was broad enough to carry a body. So when the woman turned to Itachi's body, Sakura went ahead and helped her place the body on the waiting panther as it drew its lips back to scent the blood in the air, showing off deadly white canines that looked deadlier than any mere kunai. Sakura suppressed a shiver of fear.

When the Sakura was satisfied that Itachi was placed upon the panthers back in a position that wouldn't stress the tender new flesh or allow the body to drop, she nodded to the masked woman, who then began leading the procession of two women, one gigantic panther, one unconscious murderer, and a small but still large panther.

"Do you wish to ride my back, Haruno-san?" the smaller panther who had fetched her from Konoha asked her as the masked woman and the giant panther walked away. "We won't be going nearly as fast as when you first rode me, and you're exhausted from healing."

Sakura nodded wearily and climbed back onto the panther, her muscles unhappy about returning to the position that had caused her so much grief earlier. Already she felt the familiar cramps setting in, but she ignored them. It was better than the trek that the masked woman was no doubt leading them on.

_[~*~*~*]_

About half an hour later of brisk walking (they couldn't run with the unconscious Itachi on the large panther's back with no restraints) the masked woman led them to a good sized rock face. Sakura was thankful for the relief of the cave, as she could smell the rain in the air. She kept glancing up at the gray skies, wondering when they would open up and let it pour.

When they entered the cave, Sakura saw a used fireplace that the masked woman was currently re-starting a fire in, and two made cots. How she had brought cots to such a remote place, let alone why she did, was beyond Sakura, yet the pink-haired medic was grateful.

The masked woman motioned for Sakura to lie down on one of the cots as she stood up from the now roaring fire.

Sakura shook her head. "Not until Itachi is properly taken care of."

The mask dipped its head in acknowledgment, and the larger panther walked over to the nearest cot and crouched so that Sakura and the masked woman could move Itachi to the cot. Sakura checked all his vitals and cleared his lungs again before she wrapped Itachi in the spare blankets that had accompanied the cots and moved his cot towards the fire to keep him warm.

"He should be asleep for another day at least." Sakura said as she turned to look at the other woman. "He needs to be watched 24/7 but I'm too exhausted to do that now. Would you or one of your panthers mind terribly if I asked you to watch him for me? Just wake me is something seems abnormal."

The woman waved her hand in a placating gesture. Sakura took that as a 'Oh no problem!' and went to lie down in the second cot, feeling bad about the inconvenience of two cots for three people. The masked woman just sat by the fire and pulled something out of the pocket of her bloodied cloak (that she had brought with them on the way from the battlefield) and her fingers began moving in oddly soothing motions as she fiddled away with whatever it was. Sakura couldn't see, and let her tired body drift off to sleep. Before she the darkness closed in, she heard, to her amusement, the sound of two snoring panthers.

_[~*~*~*]_

Sakura's eyes snapped open the as she felt something warm on them. She found herself staring into the sun's rays as they slanted into the cave, and she quickly diverted them from the blinding light.

"You're awake, kitten." She heard the now familiar low growling voice from across the space of the cave.

Sakura glanced and saw the panther she had ridden the day before lying by Itachi's cot. At the sight of her patient, Sakura got out of the cot, her tired muscles protesting slightly. She padded over to Itachi and began running a check up on him, the panther watching her through deceptively relaxed gold eyes.

"Where is your mistress?" Sakura asked the large cat conversationally.

"Actually, I am right here."

Sakura whipped around at the sound of the voice. A voice that was smooth, velvety, low enough to sound like a seductive purr, yet still sounding very female. A voice Sakura wished she could pull off on seduction missions. And more importantly, a voice that was familiar, and yet Sakura could not place it.

The woman with the black panther mask walked in, followed by the larger panther. As they crossed into the vicinity of the cave, Sakura felt the rippling of chakra, and realized that the woman must have put of some sort of barrier, a rare art among shinobis.

"What is the barrier for?" Sakura thought they were only used for very important and dangerous situations.

The woman chuckled, though it was a tired chuckle.

"I have a cover to keep. There are many people who would sell their own children to find out my secrets. My real face being one of them." Her smooth voice was oddly hypnotic and Sakura realized it was laced with chakra.

"I see you've sensed the special ability with my voice." The woman said in an amused voice as Sakura tensed. "Do not worry; I am not using anything on you. My voice is naturally laced with the ability, but it is not activated at the moment."

Sakura relaxed slightly. "Who are you?" Sakura gathered the courage to ask.

"Why did you come with Kuryuu when he was sent to retrieve you if you did not know who I was?" she countered.

Kuryuu must be the smaller panther then. Sakura bit her lip in annoyance, knowing she would have to answer this question before the masked woman would answer anything.

"I knew that when he mentioned the Haruno symbol that whoever was calling on me was an ally of my clan. Only our allies would know the keywords." Sakura answered truthfully.

"_Our_ allies?" she woman asked in an almost-surprised voice. "So you are not the last after all…" she murmured.

"No, I'm not." Sakura's eyes hardened. "But enough about me."

The woman sighed and Sakura swore that again she felt the woman smile behind the mask. "Who am I?" the woman repeated Sakura's question.

There was a soft chuckle from the woman, her laugh was bitter, and it made Sakura's gut twist with pity at the sound. Slowly, the woman's hand came up to her left ear, pushing a strand of dark brown hair behind her ear. Light winked at Sakura in morning light, and Sakura stared at the piercing in the ear. One in the top of the ear and two in the lobe. The stud at the top of the ear was blood red. The two in her lobe were dangling, the longest one barely three-fourths of an inch long, a piece of jade with a sakura flower painted on it. The shorter one next to it was a teardrop-shaped stone that was too bright to be quartz. Sakura thought it might have been diamond, but then thought it was preposterous that a ninja should wear such an expensive piece of jewelry.

She stared at the jade piece with the sakura flower carved into it, the paint meticulously filling the carving and staying vibrant through the years.

"Who are you?" now Sakura was whispering, voicing quiet desperation. She knew this woman, she knew her, she knew her!

"Do you not remember me, Saki?" The woman murmured sadly.

Sakura's eyes widened at the old nickname. Something glinted in behind the mask and Sakura realized she was staring in to dark eyes, eyes she knew were a dark brown. The woman's eyes had never been hidden behind the mask, just too dark for Sakura to see without the sunlight.

_In her mind's eye she saw her five-year-old self picking flowers with another girl, the girl was older, her skin beautifully bronzed and toned from being a genin._

_Another memory and Sakura was still a little girl, watching the girl through a window as her friend spoke in quiet tones with Sakura's parents underneath Sakura's room, the pink haired child listening but not understanding the conversation her friend was having with her parents, wondering why they seemed so serious._

_In another memory, Sakura watched as her friend walked down the street, humbly displaying the ANBU gear on her way home. Not showing it off, merely smiling at those who congratulated her and kept walking. Sakura stared. To be just as strong… she thought only adults were allowed to become ANBU, yet her friend had done it at fourteen! Sakura felt pride well in her chest, and at the same time, a little sad that her friend hadn't been able to speak to her lately. Oh well, she had Ino…_

_It had been three months since she saw the girl. Sakura wondered where her friend had gone- __Knock__! Sakura jumped up and answered the door to find her friend grinning down at her Sakura squealed and told her friend to wait downstairs while she ran upstairs to get her gift. When Sakura came running downstairs, she thrust the earring into her friends hand, a piece of jade that matched the color of Sakura's eyes with a her namesake painted on it. "So you can carry a piece of me whenever you leave for a long time…" Sakura told the older girl._

Sakura couldn't seem to shut her mouth.

"Ai-Ai…" she couldn't finish the name.

The woman's head snapped up, emotions discernable by her shoulders tensing and hands clenching over and over before she stilled into a stoic façade.

"It has been… a very long time since that was my name." the woman interrupted, looking away sadly. "Call me Vera instead… Please. I am… not the person you knew anymore."

"I thought you were dead!" she spluttered.

The woman's eyes softened. "To Konoha, I am dead."

Sakura shook her head. "What are you talking about?"

The woman absently petted the large panther next to her.

"The daughter of the infamous Shiuta clan." Sakura whispered, remembering the infamous clan that she hadn't thought of in years. "What happened?" Sakura asked softly.

Vera nodded towards Itachi. "The same thing that happened to him, I suspect, though I haven't confirmed his story." She whispered.

Now Sakura was confused. "Explain, please."

The large panther butted its head playfully at Vera's hand, and his mistress began petting his head as she spoke. "The Elders were corrupted at the time. And like Itachi, I was forced to go into deep cover. To do that, I had to die."

"How does that relate to Itachi?" Sakura asked skeptically.

"He's been spying on the Akatsuki." Vera stated simply.

Sakura felt her jaw hit the floor. "W-WHAT?"

A smile touched Vera's lips behind her mask. "Allow me to explain. Both Itachi's story… And mine."

* * *

><p><strong>PLEASE GIVE THIS STORY A CHANCE! This story is not mainly about my OC, in fact the main characters are Sakura, Vera, and Itachi (and maybe Sasuke towards the end). As for pairings, there will definitely SasuSaku. I think. At least I want there to be. Unless it doesn't work out with this story. :D<strong>

**~Lilithia**


	2. Kitty-kitty

_Chapter Two: Kitty-kitty_

As the first tendrils of awareness pricked his senses, he became confused. Wasn't he supposed to be dead? He had thought for sure he had died. The darkness had closed in but… what then? Sasuke did not know. Almost no one knew the truth. And those who still remembered the truth wouldn't have cared enough to save him…

Consciousness returned slowly. Itachi felt as if his eyelids weighed a hundred pounds. It took all his strength to open his eyes. Dazed, his eyes went to the fire flickering to his right. Light bounced off the stone walls that surrounded him. So he was in cave.

His body was too weak for him to move. Itachi felt blankets wrapped around him, adding to the warmth that the fire gave off. His body should have been screaming in pain but all he felt was numb. Slowly, he swallowed.

His eyes snapped towards the sound of movement as a figure stood, seeing their patient awake. A hood hid the person's face from view, the cloak hiding the body, giving Itachi only a vague outline. Gloved hands reached towards him, and Itachi's shinobi senses were immediately screaming for him to defend himself. But his body was unresponsive, and he was left with the sickening feeling of helplessness as the gloved hands began to glow green.

Green chakra. Itachi recognized the healing chakra. He wanted to squirm as the unfamiliar chakra flooded his body, and he felt his body healing itself. So this was the person who had saved him. But why?

The hands were a little on the small side, though it was hard to discern anything with the gloves covering them and the flickering light of the fire. The hands gave one last sweep over his body before one rested on his forehead. Itachi felt soothing chakra enter his brain, and was unable to fight the darkness that closed in on him.

Sakura removed her hands from the sleeping form of Itachi and glanced up as Vera walked back into the cave, firewood in her arms. The older woman knelt by the fire and began adding the wood to the fire, removing the mask she always wore when she went out. Two sleeping panthers grunted from their places near the fire.

"I bought some food from the village." Vera said softly. The village was a mile or so from their position.

Sakura pulled back her hood and went to grab some food from Vera. "Itachi woke a couple seconds ago. I just put him back to sleep."

Vera glanced at Itachi. "How is he?"

"He's stable. Other than that lung disease, his body is healing wonderfully." Sakura answered.

The woman nodded in relief. "How much longer do you want to stay with him? I imagine you should return to your village soon."

Sakura thought for a moment. "I already sent a vague message to Tsunade via Kuryuu."

"Kuryuu told me you seemed a lot like her." Vera said, her voice low. Sakura noticed Vera didn't raise her voice very much.

Sakura glanced at the smaller panther. "Tsunade-shisou and I are often compared, and yes, we are alike. I inherited much from her, not all good."

Vera chuckled a little.

"Getting back to your question, I'd be happy to stay with the patient for another day. Then you should be able to care for him by yourself." Sakura answered.

The other woman's smile was small. "Thank you for your help, Sakura."

Sakura felt a pang of regret for the woman. Vera had been through so much. "Come back to the village with me." Sakura urged. "Just so we can explain everything to Tsunade-shisou. I don't know if it will fix everything… But the Hokage needs to know."

Vera sighed. "I agree. But only after Itachi is well enough to care for himself."

"You're going to leave him?" Sakura asked in surprise.

"Not for long. But he cannot go anywhere near Konoha, Sakura." Vera explained.

Sakura nodded in understanding.

"And he can't know that it was you that saved him. Not yet." Vera said. She gave Vera a questioning look but said nothing. If Sakura remembered anything about Vera, it was that it was best not to question Vera's plans.

"I have a small cottage further up the mountain." The cave they were currently in was at the base of the mountain. "I want to move Itachi there before he wakes."

Sakura glanced at the man. "I think he's stable enough for us to do that."

Vera nodded. "Ruko, time to get up." Vera stood and gently prodded at the giant panther that had carried Itachi's body the last time. The panther opened a large golden eye, yawning and showing off an impressive set of fangs. Then he stood and shook his coat.

"Sometimes I think you only use me for the heavy lifting." It was the first time Sakura had heard that panther speak, its voice more guttural than Kuryuu's voice. The large panther padded over to the cot that Itachi was lying on and crouched down while Sakura and Vera moved Itachi's body onto his broad back.

"Oh Ruko, don't be so pessimistic." Vera's voice sounded serious, yet Sakura knew this was her only way of being teasing.

Ruko grunted and walked to the mouth of the cave. Sakura followed, pulling the hood of the cloak Vera had gotten for her the day before at the village. Vera had said that they couldn't risk anyone seeing their faces. Even Vera pulled the hood of her new cloak over her head, even with her panther mask.

"_Consider this an S-class mission. No one can know what we are doing."_ She had told Sakura. Kuryuu was the last to leave the cave. "Well I'm guessing my part in this is over." He yawned, glancing at Ruko.

Vera and Sakura turned to the smaller panther. "You're leaving?" Sakura asked.

"My job was to fetch you, Haruno-san." The panther replied in his deep bass voice, mixed with a purr.

Vera nodded. "Until next time, Kuryuu-san."

And with a little puff of smoke the smaller panther was gone. Sakura felt a little lonely without the almost familiar cat. She didn't know the other panther, Ruko, as well as she did Kuryuu. Vera turned and led Sakura and Ruko up the mountain, not following any visible path. Sakura wondered how Vera could be so prepared, a cottage only a couple hours away from where Itachi had faced Sasuke. Even those cots in the cave told Sakura that Vera had been planning on bringing Itachi to the cave. What was she planning?

It took a few hours to climb of the slop of the mountain. The mountain itself was more like a large hill, and sloped gradually, not too steep. Still, Sakura's legs were burning when they finally reached a part of the mountain that leveled out to a meadow. Across the clearing was a small cottage. Vera headed for the cottage, Ruko following with Itachi. Sakura glanced to her right and saw the edge of the meadow dropped off to a steep cliff. With no trees obscuring the view, Sakura had a breathtaking view of the land below, greenery stretching as far as the eye could see.

She turned to follow Ruko, the panther and his mistress several feet ahead of her now. Quickening her pace, Sakura followed them to the cottage. The cottage was on stilts, Sakura guessed that when it rained the water from the higher parts of the mountain gathers on this ledge before falling of the edge. There was a wrap around porch that Vera was currently standing on, making some hand seals to release whatever protective jutsus were on the building.

Sakura climbed the seven steps onto the porch, and glanced at the cottage. It was made of pale wood, with shuttered windows and a slanted roof. She walked around the porch and saw that there was a large garden behind the cottage full of edible fruit and vegetables, medicinal herbs, and a couple flowers and statues for display. There were flower boxes on the windows, the flowers already blooming in the late morning.

A smile stretched on her face as Sakura found the flowerbox connected to what she was sure was the window of the kitchen. There was mint, lemon grass, and other spices growing there for a cook to reach out a pick for a dish.

"Sakura." Vera called just loud enough for her to hear.

Sakura turned and walked back to the front door, entering the cottage.

It was very homey, very comfortable. As she entered the room was cool and free of the humidity outside created by the morning dew. Sakura was greeted by the sight of the living room, a cushioned couch and two other comfy-looking chairs faced a fireplace, a low coffee table in the middle. Sakura turned left and found herself entering the kitchen. The kitchen was empty other than utensils and pots and pans. The refrigerator and freezer were empty at the moment but were working, as was the sink. She walked out of the kitchen and into the back of the cottage, where there were two rooms, the larger room with one queen-sized bed, and the second room containing two twin-sized beds pushed against opposite sides of the room.

"How do you get all this up here?" Sakura asked in wonder when Vera came up behind her.

Vera merely chuckled at her and turned to Ruko, who was waiting in the living room with an unconscious Itachi on his back.

"In here." She ordered, and Ruko followed her into the larger bedroom.

While Vera moved Itachi onto the large bed, Sakura went to the bathroom (with working shower and sink!) to wash her hands before she walked into the room to begin healing Itachi some more.

"I'll go make some food while you heal him." Vera said, leaving the room with Ruko in tow.

When Sakura walked into the kitchen, exhausted from Itachi, she was greeted firstly by the delicious smells that made her mouth water. Vera was bent over a pot, stirring something while adding pinches of mint from the flowerbox attached to the window above the kitchen sink. The shutters were wide open, allowing cheerful sunlight to filter into the room.

"Where did you get the meat from?" Sakura asked as she stood on her tip-toes to peer over Vera's shoulder into the soup.

Behind her, Sakura heard Ruko purr in self-satisfaction. '_Well that answered that question._' She thought.

'_**I wanna kitty.' Inner Sakura said.**_

'_Where have you been?_' Sakura asked her alter-ego.

Inner Sakura grinned smugly but said nothing.

Sakura shrugged and opened the refrigerator to get some water. She was surprised to see several meals wrapped up and ready to be heated up. There was a small note on the front-most ready-made meal addressed to Itachi, telling that he could just heat up the meals until he was strong enough to cook by himself.

'_How… sweet!_' Sakura thought. It didn't fit her current impression of Vera. After all, the Vera now was far from the chunin Sakura had known in her academy days. She was much more withdrawn; actually, she was severely more withdrawn from the laughing girl Sakura remembered who would take Sakura to pick wildflowers whenever she babysat the little Haruno girl for some extra money.

The Vera now couldn't smile without looking like it pained her, her brown eyes were no longer sparkling with mirth, although it was a rare moment when Vera ever removed her panther mask. Even when she did, she wore a cloth mask over the lower half of her face like Kakashi did. Her hair was longer than the short-cropped style Vera had worn when she was younger; a style close to Sakura's hair style now. And of course, Vera had become a woman, carrying herself with poise that would make many women jealous and many men drool.

Sakura grabbed a jug of clean water and closed the fridge, turning around and setting the jug on the counter while she explored the cupboards for a glass. Pouring the water into her glass, Sakura returned the jug to the fridge and turned to lean against the counter and watch Vera dish up the soup.

"Here." Vera murmured as she set two bowls of soup on the dining table. Sakura joined her and began to eat. Meanwhile, Vera poured the rest of the soup into a giant bowl and left it on the floor for Ruko, who purred appreciatively and began to daintily lap at the bowl, keeping his precious whiskers clean. Sakura giggled.

Vera poured herself some water and sat across the table from Sakura.

"How is Itachi today?" Vera inquired.

"He won't need me anymore." Sakura answered. "He shouldn't exercise or exert himself for another week or two, his wounds might re-open. But his body should be back to relative normalcy in a couple days."

Vera nodded in satisfaction, though her face was still carefully blank. Only her eyes thoughtful.

"Although, I am worried about that lung disease of his." Sakura admitted.

Vera's eyes closed in what looked like defeat. "We don't have time to heal all that, let alone the proper medical supplies. He'd have to go to a proper hospital, or better yet, the Konoha hospital."

"I don't think the Konoha hospital would admit Uchiha Itachi." Sakura pointed out.

"Exactly." Vera sighed.

Sakura gazed at Vera sadly, wondering how Vera and Itachi knew each other. Perhaps because they were both in ANBU at the same time? There was a story there she didn't know, another hidden part of Konoha's legacy. "I've healed it enough so that it should only barely bother him. It won't get serious for another couple months."

Vera actually gave Sakura grateful look. "Thank you." She whispered.

She smiled back at Vera. "Would you mind summoning Kuryuu? I should send a message to Tsunade."

Vera nodded and picked up their bowls and placed them in the sink.

"Should I tell her to expect both of us?" Sakura asked hopefully.

The brunette paused. Vera was staring out the window above the sink before turning and giving Sakura tiny smile. "Yeah. I think it's time I visited to Konoha."

Sakura couldn't stop herself from grinning. She couldn't wait to tell Tsunade everything she had learned from Vera!

"It's time you came home." Sakura whispered.

Vera glanced out the window again, her eyes troubled. "Hm."

Ruko stood and stretched, Vera went to pick up his bowl, placing it in the sink as well.

"That was delicious, Vera-sama." Ruko purred, butting his large head against her arm as he stood. Sakura honestly didn't know how the giant cat fit in the small cottage. How did the floorboards even support his weight?!

"Ruko." Vera began cleaning his whiskers, her eyes soft as she gazed at the large cat. "I need you to stay here and watch over Itachi while we're gone." Ruko seemed to pout (if it was possible for a gigantic panther to pout) and slunk into the living room.

A thought struck Sakura. "How will Ruko get out of the cottage?" she asked, thinking of the doors.

Vera chuckled. "The panthers can turn door handles with their tails. And he'll be able to go hunt for himself here in the wilderness. He is not a tame cat." She assured Sakura.

Sakura nodded.

"Let's go." Vera said, grabbing her black mask and putting it on her face before she opened the front door. Sakura put on her cloak and pulled the hood over her face.

As Vera turned her back, Sakura gazed at the woman's weapons. Sakura had been so distracted lately that she hadn't closely studied Vera's choice of weaponry. Now Sakura saw two wicked blades crossed in an 'X' on Vera's back. The blades didn't have a sheath; they were too jagged and curved to be slid in and out of a sheath quickly. These blades were obviously made for pain, to rip and tear flesh, points tapered so finely tapered that Sakura had no doubt that they easily sliced the skin.

Vera had other blades hidden on her person, Sakura had no doubt. Some of the other more visible weapons were the daggers strapped to her thighs, and a row of throwing knives at the small of her back. On her left shoulder, its sheath connected to the shoulder guard, was a small knife. There were more knives hidden in her boots under her shin guards. This woman loved her blades.

With the sound of flapping fabric, Vera pulled her cloak over her shoulders, hiding her weapons from view. They walked down the steps of the porch. Moist grass was crushed quietly under Sakura's feet. Sakura gazed at the beautiful meadow, wildflowers blanketing it in their soft colors. The midday sun warmed Sakura, warding off the chill of the altitude. Everything was quiet other than the sounds of wind and birds.

Vera pulled a kunai out from somewhere and sliced her palm, making the necessary hand seals to summon her panthers.

Sakura was surprised when three large cats appeared before them, coats gleaming black, the smallest one she recognized as Kuryuu. The other two weren't quite as big as Ruko, they were in between the size of Kuryuu and Ruko, their heads reaching Sakura's shoulder where Ruko was just as tall as Sakura and Kuryuu reached her thigh.

"Sakura-san." Kuryuu greeted. "Do you wish me to deliver a message to you Hokage?"

Sakura smiled and nodded. "Yes. Please inform her that I'll be returning today, along with a visitor."

"A visitor?" Kuryuu glanced sharply at Vera, the other two panthers following suit.

"I thought you couldn't return to Konoha." A velvety purr sounded in a voice that was definitely female. Sakura glanced at one of the other panthers.

"Circumstances are changing." Vera answered the female panther.

"Hm." The female responded.

Kuryuu looked back at Sakura. "You two are leaving now, I presume." He said. "Anything else you want me to tell the Hokage?"

Sakura nodded. "Tell Tsunade-sama that my visitor's identity must remain a secret. I will inform her of the identity myself, but no one else can know."

Kuryuu dipped his head in acknowledgement then he turned and set off for Konoha, a black blur in the greenery. Sakura watched Kuryuu leave until he disappeared from the meadow. Then she turned back to the other two panthers standing before them. The female that had spoken up earlier was slightly larger than the other one, with bright, almost neon-green eyes instead of the traditional gold.

The other panther was more slender, but was still giant compared to a normal panther. It also had golden eyes and a flat head, with ears that were slightly larger than the other female. All of Vera's panthers were larger than normal panthers, and Ruko was freaking enormous compared to any cat species.

"Introduce yourselves." Vera instructed them.

The slender cat with gold eyes and large ears swished its tail and dipped its head. "I am Nimeko." Nimeko's voice told Sakura it was female, with the usual purr mixed into the voice, her voice sounding younger than the other female. She regarded Sakura with curiosity, but her eyes were friendlier than the other panther.

The slightly larger and broader female panther watched Sakura with stern, almost hostile eyes.

Vera gave the silent female a hard look.

"My name is Kura." She said curtly, heeding Vera's unsaid warning. Sakura had the feeling Kura was a naturally unfriendly kitty.

"Nice to meet you, Nimeko and Kura." Sakura bowed.

Both panthers dipped their heads in response.

Vera ran her hand over Kura's head. "If you noticed Ruko and Kura look alike, they are siblings." She explained to Sakura. And now that Sakura was looking for it, she saw that they were both indeed built in the same manner, stockier and less slender than the average feline build.

The pink haired medic nodded.

"Forgive Kura, it takes time for her to warm up to people." Vera continued.

At this Kura sniffed and looked away.

Sakura was sure Nimeko's golden eyes were sparkling in amusement. "I'm the friendly one." Nimeko rumbled with a small bark of what Sakura was sure was a panther's way of laughing.

Kura glared at Nimeko. "That's because you're young and naïve."

Nimeko moved her shoulders in what Sakura interpreted as a shrug. "Sakura, you can ride me." The slender panther turned to the medic. "Kura only ever lets Vera ride her anyway."

Vera scratched behind one large panther ear, earning a reluctant purr from Kura. "Let us get moving then." Vera said.

Nimeko crouched down to allow Sakura to swing her leg over and got in the same position she held when she rode Kuryuu. Except now that her mount was bigger, Nimeko was almost twice as large as Kuryuu, it was much more comfortable for Sakura. Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura watched Vera leap onto Kura's back effortlessly without the cat having to crouch down.

It looked so natural for Vera to sit up there on the giant panther, looking like a warrior woman straight out of legends. Vera leaned forwards and held on to Kura. "Let's go." Vera ordered.

The two panthers leaped into a run, and Sakura gripped Nimeko, fearing falling off the cat at such high speeds. Vera, on the other hand, looked positively comfortable. They continued down the mountain at a fast pace. When the way down became steep, Vera told Sakura to sit up and lean back to make it easier for the panthers to pick their way down without fearing for their riders sliding off. Once at the bottom of the mountain, Sakura and Vera leaned back down and the panthers took off again, moving at speeds too fast for the naked eye to register.

With a thump, the third pile of papers that day was placed on her desk. Tsunade glared at them, hoping they would spontaneously combust, but fate, it seemed, wasn't on her side today. Shizune gave Tsunade a pitying smile.

"I hate you." Tsunade muttered and found her forehead on the desk.

Shizune laughed. "Come on, Tsunade-sama. The faster you work, the faster they go away."

Tsunade crossed her arms and sat up, ignoring the feeling a red mark on her forehead. "Go bring me more sake and I will."

Shizune put her hands on her hips. "Tsunade!"

Just then, there was a commotion. Shizune and Tsunade looked up to see a pair of ninjas attempting to follow a black blur as it seemed to fly over the buildings. Tsunade, recognizing it, stood to open her window. Just as the window was fully open the large cat landed in the office. Tsunade closed the window.

The panther regarded Tsunade coolly, ignoring Shizune.

"Shizune." Tsunade didn't take her eyes off the panther. "Please leave us. No one is to disturb us. Oh, and go assure the border patrols that nothing is wrong."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama." Shizune bowed and left the office, closing the door and Tsunade felt the chakra barriers and the seals protecting the office flare up.

"Do you have to create such a scene when you enter the village?" Tsunade asked Kuryuu in exasperation.

"I am merely taking the most direct route." The cat responded, sitting back on its haunches and beginning to lick it paw. Tsunade rolled her eyes. All feline Summons were so disrespectful.

"I have a message." Kuryuu finally said.

Tsunade felt her eye twitch. "I figured." She growled.

Kuryuu seemed to smirk, but it was hard to tell with his cat features. "It is from Sakura-san."

Tsunade glared now. "Get to the point."

There was a rumble as the cat chuckled. "Yes, yes." He yawned, showing off large canines, and Tsunade remembered that this was still a wild predator.

"She said she will be returning later today." Tsunade felt relief flood through her. "And she's bringing a visitor."

Tsunade paused. "What?"

The cat nodded. "The visitor's identity must remain a secret though. Sakura will tell you herself when they get here, but no one else must know."

Glancing at the gate, Tsunade felt her mind twisting in confusion.

"This is important." The panther spoke up, bringing Tsunade's focus back to him. "It concerns your village. Actually, it concerns the village and the events of seven years ago."

Tsunade felt her brow furrow. "Seven years ago?"

A sadness filled the panthers eyes. "Yes." And Tsunade knew she wouldn't be getting any more information until Sakura arrived with her 'visitor'.


	3. The Blank Slate

I can't believe I finished it! Yay! Here it is- chapter three. And we finally get to see Itachi! Yay!

I DON'T OWN NARUTO AND I NEVER WILL.

_Chapter Three: The Blank Slate_

The gatekeepers had obviously been expecting them. Sakura saw them stiffen in fear at the sight of two women riding two gigantic panthers. One of the guards turned to alert the tower, and soon Shizune was standing at the gate as well.

Sakura felt her heart lift at the sight of her sister-figure. Pulling the hood of her cloak back, Sakura revealed her signature hair so Shizune and the gatekeepers would recognize them.

"Wh-What are you riding?!" Shizune exclaimed when they were within hearing range.

Nimeko's and Kura's ears flattened, feeling miffed at being referred to as an object. Sakura smiled at Shizune. "Well obviously I'm riding a large black panther."

Shizune shook her head in wonder. "The Hokage is waiting for you." She said, glancing up at the woman riding an even larger panther behind Sakura, face hidden under the hood of her cloak. "I'm guessing this is the visitor we were told of?"

"Yes." Sakura answered, and Vera dipped her head confirmation.

"Would you mind releasing your Summons?" Shizune asked the women.

Sakura glanced at Vera, who shook her head, but dismounted Kura. "The panthers are coming with us." Sakura answered for Vera as she carefully got off of Nimeko as her mount crouched down.

Shizune hesitated for a second. "Fine. Please follow me."

The gatekeepers followed their movements warily as the two large cats followed the women into the village.

"Did you see the size of that thing?!" Kotestu whispered to Izumo.

_[~*~*~*]_

Tsunade saw Kuryuu's head snap up in the direction of the gate and knew they had arrived. She had been worried sick for Sakura, and knowing Sakura was home filled her with immense relief. Kuryuu stood and sat by the window, looking out and watching for his mistress. His twitching tail was the only sign of his impatience.

A loud knock at the door.

Kuryuu jumped down from the window sill.

"Enter!" Tsunade commanded.

Shizune opened the door and stood aside to allow two cloaked women to enter. Tsunade immediately recognized the pink haired woman that was like a daughter to her, bright viridian eyes gleaming at Tsunade with a smile. The woman behind Sakura still had the hood of her cloak up, and Tsunade was unable to see anything past the hood.

Sakura's guest was an inch taller than her, but Tsunade guessed they would have been the same height if the mystery woman were to take off her heeled boots. This woman moved with quiet and controlled movements that could only belong to a shinobi. Kuryuu immediately began to purr at the sight of his mistress.

Then Tsunade was really surprised when two more panthers entered the room. These creatures had to be four feet tall at the shoulder! One had gold eyes like Kuryuu and some earrings in its ear, and the thinner one had green eyes.

'_How did they fit into the room?!_' she thought.

"Sakura. Welcome home." Tsunade greeted warmly.

Sakura gave returned her mentor's welcoming smile. "Hokage-sama." She greeted formally, though her eyes showed as much fondness as respect.

"Shizune, please leave us." Tsunade asked in her usual brusque manner.

Shizune nodded and closed the door behind her. With the wards and seals of the office activated, Tsunade signaled the women to sit down in front of her desk. Then she took a seat herself.

"Well, Sakura. I must say I have too many questions to know what to ask first." Tsunade stated as she produced a sake bottle out of somewhere.

"I'm starting to think your real Summons are sake bottles, and not slugs." Sakura shook her head with a smile.

The woman sitting next to Sakura chuckled softly.

Tsunade eyed the mystery woman as she poured three cups. "Would you mind introducing your friend here, Sakura?"

Sakura glanced at the woman, all light pretenses gone.

"You may call me Vera." The woman said.

Tsunade liked the way the woman's voice sounded almost like a purr, smooth and flowing. She thought she could detect several different accents, but what confused her was that the most prominent accent was of the Fire country. Tsunade pondered this as she handed out three cups of sake.

The woman took hers and set it on the table in front of her, never touching it once during their talk.

"She is an ally of my clan." Sakura said.

"Yet you did not recognize her Summons when Kuryuu came to fetch you?" Tsunade questioned. The panther in question, as well as the other two, stayed quiet.

"She was an ally of earlier generations." Sakura explained. "One of the lesser known allies; to me, at least."

Tsunade nodded, unsure if she should believe what Sakura was saying.

"I called Sakura to heal a dying friend of mine." Vera told the Hokage. "Thanks to your tutelage and her medical prowess, she managed to bring him back from the brink of death."

Tsunade felt a surge of pride at that information, just as she always did when she heard of the feats of her apprentices.

"Why did she bring you here then?" Tsunade asked. Things were not adding up. This woman was more than she appeared to be, and Tsunade was not letting her guard down. Plus this woman had three large (two of them abnormally large) black panthers in this small office at her bidding.

"I wanted to bring her home." Sakura said softly, and Tsunade glanced at her apprentice in surprise.

'_This woman is from Konoha...?_' Tsunade wondered.

"Who is she?" Tsunade demanded. "Who is she really?"

Sakura smiled sadly. "A daughter of the Shiuta clan."

Giving them a questioning look, Tsunade called Shizune in.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade?" Shizune asked as she poked her head in.

"Can you see if you can find anything about a clan by the name of Shiuta in the files?" she asked her assistant.

"Hai." Shizune nodded and closed the door again.

"So is this woman from Konoha?" Tsunade asked Sakura.

The mystery woman reluctantly nodded. "I… was."

One blonde eyebrow rose. "So are you saying you are a rogue ninja?" Tsunade questioned.

"No! She never betrayed Konoha!" Sakura shook her head vigorously.

Vera leaned back in her chair, putting her arms on the arms of the chair and crossing her legs in a very regal position. "I went on an extended undercover mission with an indefinite time limit and no guarantee of survival."

Tsunade's eyes widened. As far as she knew, Konoha policy tried to avoid such missions. Yes, they had missions where people might be undercover for a year or even three. However, from what Vera had insinuated this woman had been undercover for so long that no one in the village remembered her! How long had she been away?

"How long… How long has this mission been for you?" Tsunade asked, trying to keep herself stern.

The woman turned to gaze out the window, her shoulders slumping just barely in sadness. "It's been almost a decade…"

Tsunade choked on the air. Sakura's eyes watered, but she blinked her tears away. "W-what?" One did not undertake such a long mission without communication! Tsunade was confused. Why had she not seen any files about this?

"Seven years ago…" Vera murmured from under the shadow of her hood. "No. It's nearly eight years now."

"Take off your hood." Tsunade ordered.

Vera reached up and pulled off the fabric of her cloak, revealing a dark brown bun and a black panther face mask of similar make of the ANBU masks.

Tsunade stared.

"Why do you not show you face?" she asked. No, she _demanded_. Tsunade was so tired of all the secrecy, not just Vera, but of Konoha itself. Ever since she had taken the position of Hokage, it seemed, all the government conspiracies of the previous Hokage (no offense to her sensei, the Sandaime) seemed to be unraveling. Now it was up to her to collect the strings lest Konoha fall apart at the seams.

"It has been years since I last saw my true face." Vera said in her soft voice. "And I dare not show it. I have made many enemies with my mission."

"And what was your mission?" Tsunade asked.

Vera paused. Sakura glanced at the panther mask as well, curiosity in her eyes. Vera had never told her what exactly the mission had been.

"I apologize." The mask dipped its head. "But it is not yet time for me to reveal that."

Tsunade's fist slammed into the wood of the desk, and the sturdy piece of furniture groaned in protest. "As the Hokage of what you say is _your_ village, meaning that you answer to _me_, I order you to-"

Shizune opened the door. "My Lady. I have what you asked for."

The file on the Shiuta clan had not yet landed on Tsunade's desk before the blonde's hand snatched it out of the air and began leafing through it.

"You won't find any traces of me in there." Vera stated calmly.

Tsunade's furious page turning came to an abrupt halt and her honey eyes glared at the black panther mask. "Why not?"

Vera hesitated. "All traces of my existence within this village were either erased or I took it with me."

"So you took confidential Konoha information?" Tsunade growled.

"I had permission."

Tsunade froze. Slowly, she lowered herself back into her seat. "What are you saying, exactly?" she whispered.

Vera's fingers drummed on the arm of her chair. Taking a deep breath, Vera began her _abridged _explanation to Tsunade.

"I was sent on an undercover mission. A mission for which I had to become 'Vera', and make my previous identity disappear. I was given _complete_ independence in this mission: I was not to make contact with Konoha unless it was directly with the Sandaime. I was no longer bound to follow the council. In fact, because of this mission, I actually out-ranked the council." Vera chuckled darkly. "If only I could have seen the look on their faces. Alas, they do not even know of this mission. This mission was under the direct order and secrecy of the Third.

The Sandaime did not know how long this mission would last, or whether I would even survive an entire year where I was headed. All traces of who I was had to be erased from not only the files, but everything in Konoha itself."

Vera glanced out the windows again. "I doubt my old house even exists anymore. The Sandaime gave me permission to go through all the Konoha files and erase anything that had to do with me. Any detail that might hint to an unaccounted-for ninja that disappeared from the ranks of Konoha."

"And what of the Shiuta clan?" Tsunade asked, glancing at the file, which was alarmingly thin.

"The Shiuta clan was always secretive." Vera explained, gazing at the file as well. "Not much was ever known about them, even to the Konoha files. My clan trusted no one, not even the village they fought for."

"If you supposedly erased your existence in the village, does that mean there is no one left in the village that may remember you?" The Hokage questioned.

Vera's fingers continued to drum. "My clan is gone. To any of the civilians that might have known me, I was merely a kunoichi that never returned from her mission. The only person that might have remembered me that still remains in Konoha is a childhood friend of mine. And even she forgot about me, since she was very young when I disappeared."

Sakura's eyes watered a little as she glanced away.

Tsunade observed this. "Sakura."

The rosette looked up.

"What do you remember of the Shiuta clan?" the Hokage asked her.

"I was too young to remember much." Sakura answered without hesitating. "I know they were powerful. Very, very powerful. But they didn't use their powers often. My… father… often spoke of them. He would say that Konoha had no idea of the powers that lay dormant in the Shiuta. But the Shiuta… never used these powers."

Tsunade glanced curiously at Vera.

"The Shiuta clan understood that people would fear them and possible try to harm them should Konoha find out about their Kekkai Gekkai." Vera explained. "So all Shiuta children were taught to never access our bloodline limit in front of anyone."

"What happened to the Shiuta clan?" Tsunade was confused as to why she never heard of them before, even if they were a secretive clan.

Vera looked away, her tense body posture telling the Hokage that the woman did not plan to speak of it anytime soon. Tsunade turned to Sakura, but her apprentice just shook her head. Sakura did not know what happened to the clan either.

Tsunade glanced at the file in her hand and turned to the last page. It read:

'_The Shiuta clan mysteriously disappeared five years after the end of the Third Shinobi War. Proposed searches to find the missing clan were denied by the council. Location- Unknown. Survivors- Unknown. Population- Unknown._

A handwritten note in the margin of the paper caught Tsunade's eyes. The scrawl was hastily written, as if the person who wrote it was in a hurry, or was not supposed to be looking into the file. The unknown handwriting stated:

"_The council banned any mention of the Shiuta. No one is allowed to speak of them. The council is corrupt. Many of us shinobi know this… But no one is willing to stand up. I will probably die if I am found writing this. Kami watch over the missing family, Shiuta."_

Tsunade wondered who had written this. The note tugged on her heartstrings just a little as she realized what this meant. The Uchiha clan was not the only clan destroyed by the corrupt council members.

"I will keep in touch." Vera interrupted the silence as she stood, three black panthers climbing to their feet in response.

Tsunade and Sakura looked up. "Wait, why are you leaving?" Tsunade asked.

"You've only just returned!" Sakura exclaimed.

They both somehow knew Vera was smiling behind her mask. "My investigation is not done yet." Vera replied. "Thank you for your hospitality."

Sakura grabbed Vera's hand. "Ai-"

"Thank you, Saki." Vera ruffled the girl's pink locks. "I will keep in touch. Besides, I have a feeling I may need your help soon."

Sakura stared as she let go of the woman.

"Hokage-sama." Vera bowed to Lady Tsunade.

"This mission is the one the Sandaime sent you on?" Tsunade asked.

"Indeed." Vera replied.

Tsunade nodded, several theories already forming in her head. "Well then… You are dismissed."

Vera nodded. "I will be leaving Kuryuu with Sakura in case she needs to contact me."

There was a surprised bark. "What?!" Kuryuu exclaimed.

"Huh?!" Sakura stared at the large cat.

"You heard me." Vera nodded. And then she walked out the door.

Kuryuu followed his mistress to the village gates, trotting up to her and batting her hand with his head. "If this is what you wish, I shall not argue, My Lady." He rumbled.

Vera rubbed his soft ears between her fingers. "Look after her for me." She whispered to him. "There are not many Harunos left in this world. She may just be the only one."

Kuryuu was quiet. "I shall look after the Haruno heir." He promised.

Vera nodded, still facing the gates. "I shall return someday." She whispered.

"Isn't that what you said last time you left this village?" Kuryuu grumbled.

A soft chuckle was heard from behind the mask. "Yes. And I did, did I not? Next time… I'll return for good."

Kuryuu, with Nimeko and Kura behind, all heard the deep sadness in her voice. They were silent, allowing their mistress to remember the memories of the village for which she was still loyal to after so long.

_[~*~*~*]_

His eyelids felt so heavy...

His awareness took a moment to check that all his vitals were in order, and that every limb was still attached.

The soreness was everywhere...

_This is what I get for dying..._ he thought dryly before falling back asleep.

_[~*~*~*]_

Once again, his eyelids felt like they weighed a hundred pounds. It felt like he had struggled for hours to open them, although he knew it could not have actually taken that long. Finally, though, a crack appeared in his dark world.

The shapes refused to come into focus. Itachi blinked again, but his eyesight did not sharpen. The entire room was cast in a gray light. There was movement above him, and Itachi's eyes finally managed to lock onto the fan. Was his eyesight really so bad? His eyes widened as he realized his Sharingan was off. It was instinct for it to be activated, he _never _woke up without it on. When he tried to activate his Sharingan, he found that he was too low on chakra reserves. No chakra. Zero percent. If he even attempted to draw upon the nonexistent chakra to activate his Sharingan, it would damage the cells around his eyes.

Experimentally he curled his toes. Then he curled his fingers. The joints in both creaked from being still for however long he had been unconscious. The muscles in his arms screeched in protest as he struggled to push himself up and into a sitting position.

With a pained grunt, Itachi managed to sit up and glanced down at his chest. Then he realized he was naked. Slowly Itachi swung his legs off the bed and sat there for a moment as his muscles trembled from the exertion. He was disgusted by how weak he was.

The movement made the Sharingan user dizzy, and forced him to grip the sheets for a good few seconds, taking deep breaths. With cautious movements, Itachi slowly rose to stand on his feet, keeping his arms out for balance. Then he fell back onto the bed again. His eyes narrowed in annoyance at his weakness.

Itachi glanced at the side table on the bed. There was a clock on there, its hands telling him it was around noon. Again, Itachi glanced around the room. There was a dark wooden side table on each side of the queen-sized bed, which had plain white sheets and pillows and a black comforter. The rest of the room was bare, no pictures, no decorations, nothing. There was only the plain little clock to his left. The bed was situated in the middle of the room, pushed against the wall opposite of the door.

The door was on the right side of the wall opposite the bed, and was closed. Itachi wondered where it led. Glancing up, Itachi saw two long curtains with light barely filtering through them, blocking out the light, and muting the room in shadow.

Hand gripping the side table, Itachi took a deep breath before hauling himself up into a standing position.

And nearly face planted.

His grip on the table tightened as he pitched forward. Somehow, Itachi managed to right himself again, and stood with feet braced apart, legs trembling as he reminded his muscles of what they were supposed to do.

He put all his concentration on taking that first step, then the second one, and a third, until he stumbled over to the curtains. He pulled back the curtains the light was minimal outside, yet it still assaulted his sensitive eyes. He spent a good couple seconds letting his eyes adjust to the light outside. The sliding glass doors seemed to lead to a porch that looked as if it wrapped around the house he was in.

It was cloudy. That is what he noticed first. It did not seem like it was going to rain, but the sky was gray as far as his eyes could see. Then he noticed spots of color and let his gaze drift downwards. There was a field. It was speckled with patches of wildflowers, though he could not see what types they were because of his eyesight. Out of the corner of his eye, Itachi caught sight of a light-colored fence and wondered where it led.

'_Oh. It's not smart to stand in front of a glass door while naked.'_ Itachi realized rather calmly. He turned around after closing the curtains and stumbled back to the bed, his muscles already trembling from the strain.

Itachi was disgusted. The stumbling was a disgrace to his former agility. And he couldn't even see clearly without his Sharingan. Running a hand through his loose hair in frustration, Itachi sat with his elbows resting on his knees and his hands on his head. Strands of ebony slipped past his shoulders and curtained off his face.

He wanted to know where he was.

But it would have to wait. His muscles were about to collapse and Itachi was exhausted from the exertion of standing, even if he was sitting down on the bed. He collapsed onto the bed, somehow finding it in him to pull his long legs under the sheets.

He welcomed the darkness.

_[~*~*~*]_

When he woke again, Itachi was determined to find the kitchen. He could not even remember the last time he had eaten, and his stomach was currently attempting to eat itself. Studiously ignoring the ache in his abdomen, Itachi concentrated on actually getting out of the room.

His stomach growled again.

Itachi grimaced and wondered when he had last eaten. Again he pushed himself off the bed and made his way to the door facing his bed on the right hand side of the room. Sheer determination allowed him to make his way to the door. His fingers fumbled to wrap themselves around the handle at first before he managed to turn it. The door swung open, and Itachi swore he could taste the freedom of not being confined to the bed anymore.

He found himself staring down a hallway, with two doors on his right. Keeping a hand on the wall, Itachi took quiet, tentative steps down the hall. As he passed the first door, he was relieved to see the bathroom. He glanced inside the bathroom and saw a mirror.

His reflection shocked him. Of course, he was not expecting to look great after he was supposed to have died, but he hadn't expected himself to look like a walking corpse. Itachi went into the bathroom to get a closer look, his poor eyesight felt like it was crippling him.

His entire body was thin. He had always been a lean person, but he was actually showing bone. Itachi's face was gaunt, his eyes bloodshot and sunken, his face a sickly gray. A hand rose to his jutting cheekbone, then to push back his greasy hair. Itachi winced, vowing to take a shower after finding some food.

The next door he passed was closed. For the sake of his paranoid mind, Itachi opened it. It was another bedroom. Immediately Itachi wondered if this room was where the one who saved him had slept. From what he could tell, the room was almost exactly like the one he had woken up in, only slightly smaller: gray, bare, and silent. The bed was made, looking as if it had not been touched in a long time. The air in the room was stale, and Itachi knew that the room had not been used in a long, long time.

Itachi closed the door and continued. The hall opened up into what looked like a living room. To his left of Itachi, set into the wall, was a fireplace, crackling softly and warming the room, its cheerful glow staving off the gray light from outside. Facing the fireplace was a sofa, sitting in the middle of the room, with two cushioned chairs facing each other, sitting on either side of the sofa. In the middle of the furniture was a dark wooden coffee table, oak wood if Itachi had to guess.

An open doorway on his right led Itachi into the kitchen. As he entered, he faced the sink across the room, the shutters on the window above the sink were closed. To his right was the fridge, and to his left was a small dining area, one table and four chairs, all made out of the same oak wood as the coffee table in the living room and the side tables next to his bed seemed to be carved from.

Ripping open the refrigerator, he nearly gave a sigh of relief to find wrapped plates and bowls of food placed in neat rows on the first two shelves. Other than those, there were a few condiments in the bottom drawers but the fridge was otherwise bare.

Itachi's eyes narrowed as they caught his name, even with his eyesight.

'_Itachi._

_These are for you. Heat them up until you are strong enough to cook for yourself, although I doubt you will be before I return. No, you paranoid idiot, the food is NOT poisoned;__ that would be counterproductive to all the chakra I wasted healing you__. Eat. Your body needs it.__ And you are not allowed to do anything exerting for the entire week.'_

Itachi turned pulled the note off one of the meals. Although he had already read the note, Itachi could not help but read it again to see if maybe his failing eyes had missed the signature. However, there was none, and he was left to wonder who would dare write such a note. The author wrote as if they were familiar with Itachi, and had the gall to boss him around. Only one person had ever bossed him around.

"_Itachi! Get your ass over here!"_

_Itachi winced at the sound of the strong female voice. He tried to hide the fact, but the pity coupled with amusement in Kakashi-sempai's eyes told him the older ANBU had seen it. Itachi glared at his older teammate._

"_Women." Kakashi chuckled. "You better go see what she wants."_

_Itachi kept his face blank, but knew that his eyes darkened at the fact that this girl was practically bossing him around as if he were a mere teammate. He was her captain! Couldn't the girl show some respect?_

"_The one woman who can actually boss __**the **__Uchiha Itachi." Kakashi chuckled as he brought his book back to his face. Itachi resisted the urge to turn and scowl at Kakashi as he walked to the source of the yelling._

"_You went through my bag."_

_She did not ask him. She stated the fact with a voice that promised pain and humiliation. Itachi had no doubt she would go through with whatever she threatened him with._

'_**I had to be stuck on a team with the most manipulative kunoichi in Konoha.**__' Itachi knew all his blank stares and bored looks did little to faze the girl._

"_I merely organized our bags so we could carry everything we needed for this mission." He stated blandly._

"_Well thank you for __**organizing**__ my __**tampons**__ into neat little rows." Snapping her voice like a whip, Itachi felt Kakashi and their other teammate, Manabo, flinch from where the older men were eavesdropping on Itachi's conversation behind him._

"_Oh Itachi, you were so young, so promising. Now you're going to die..." Itachi caught Kakashi's whispered eulogy and resisted the urge to roll his eyes._

"_Surely she wouldn't dare use any of her tricks on our captain... right?" Manabo asked Kakashi in a whisper. Kakashi just slowly shuddered._

_The next morning Itachi's spare pair of briefs was found hanging from the top of the tallest tree in the clearing. He swore the entire team to secrecy._

"_I'm punishing you for insubordination." He later told her when they returned to Konoha._

_She smiled innocently. "What do you mean? What reason are you telling the Hokage?"_

_Itachi fumed silently. There was no way he was telling the Hokage that she had stolen his briefs right from under his nose and hung them in a tree. He'd never live it down._

Itachi shook his head and turned his attention back to the note. He thought he had left those memories to die long ago. It was no use resurrecting them. That had been another lifetime.

He had half a mind not to eat the food to spite of the mystery person. Then his stomach tried to digest itself again and reminded Itachi that he had not eaten in at least 48 hours.

Pondering who had saved him, Itachi grabbed the first dish and heated it up. Soon the kitchen smelled of delicious fish, teriyaki, rice, and steaming vegetables and Itachi's stomach began attempting to eat itself in impatience.

The moment the microwave dinged Itachi ripped open the door, grabbed some chopsticks, and inhaled the food. He knew he should have eaten more slowly to avoid getting sick, but hunger tends to lead to misjudgment.

Itachi cooked two more meals after that, totaling in three meals in less than ten minutes. His mother would have had a heart attack at the blatant lack of manners that the Uchiha, particularly Itachi himself, was known for.

"I see you're awake." Itachi glanced up sharply, cracking his neck.

Itachi tensed as his feet slid into a defensive position. The gold eyes regarded him silently to study Itachi.

"Don't bother." Itachi was shocked as a growling, guttural voice erupted from the cat. "I know you are as weak as a kitten right now. I am merely here to guard you."

The owner of the rough, deep voice chuckled at Itachi's shock as a creature out of myth walked into the kitchen and dining area. Itachi was instantly on edge. He could not believe the size of the cat before him.

"Allow me to introduce myself." The large black panther blinked his golden eyes. "I am Ruko."

Itachi kept his face carefully blank, but nodded his head.

"I assume you are the infamous Uchiha Itachi." Ruko continued.

"…I am." Itachi answered reluctantly.

The panther nodded and padded lazily into the living room. Itachi picked up his plates and set them in the sink before following the panther into the living room. The cat was leaning against the front of the sofa, seeming to doze.

Itachi desperately wanted to ask this Ruko questions, but did not know how to begin. Where was he? How was he alive? Why a panther?

"I assume you're wondering why you are here." Ruko's voice cut into his thoughts.

Itachi turned his head to gaze at the creature.

The large panther chuckled. "My mistress was there. She summoned a great healer to come save you, although my Lady did much to heal you herself as well."

"Who is your 'Mistress?" Itachi asked softly, his voice hoarse from disuse.

The cat chuckled again. "It is not my place to tell you."

Itachi narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

"I suggest you go wash up and then get back into bed." Ruko yawned, and Itachi was unashamed that he felt a bit of fear as he gazed at the gigantic canines of the panther. "Not that your nakedness bothers me. I am an animal after all."

"Why did she save me?" Itachi managed to croak out.

Ruko opened one eye as he laid his head down on his paws to sleep. "I do not bother to question the motives of my mistress. She has her own plans." He closes his eyes. "But as for you, Uchiha, I think she saved you as repayment."

Itachi's brow creased. "Repayment for what?"

The cat shrugged, and Itachi knew the conversation was over. The Uchiha scowled in annoyance as he went to go take a shower and then collapse back into bed. He was exhausted as laid down on the bed and sleep was quick to overtake him.


	4. I am Vera now

_Chapter Four: I am Vera now_

"He is the most powerful ninja I have ever seen." Vera murmured aloud to her companion. "And that's saying a lot."

"Mm." Kura grunted. "I'll admit, from the rumors I've heard, I wouldn't doubt it."

A hand lifted to tap her mask in thought. Nimeko had been dismissed hours ago, and now Kura and Vera were walking through a forest while Kura caught her breath before they decided to start running again. Well, Kura would be the one doing all the running.

"I've fought many powerful shinobi." Vera murmured. "But the battle between Itachi and Sasuke… I see why the Uchiha were feared."

"Don't forget the Shiuta." Kura muttered, and she could practically feel Vera frown from behind her mask.

"Itachi could easily defeat Madara if he became healthy again." Vera continued to think out loud, avoiding any mention of her clan.

Kura blinked. "So… Is that why you saved him? Is that Itachi's purpose?"

"What, I can't save a man out of the kindness of my heart?" Vera asked Kura in a mock-offended tone.

The panther let out a bark of laughter. "_Kindness_? You wouldn't know kindness if it bit you on the tail!"

Vera didn't even bother to point out to her companion that she didn't _have _a tail.

"You're a conniving and manipulative kunoichi, that's what you are. And if you have a heart, it's only because of your loyalty to Konoha. But helping a stranger? Or even a friend? Hell would have to freeze over first, my Lady."

Vera chuckled and glanced around. Throwing out a chakra net, she checked for any human beings within the area before removing her mask, and then the cloth mask underneath it. The woman flinched as her bangs and the wind hit her face.

"Ugh." She protested weakly, reaching up to rub her face. "It's been too long since I took that thing off."

There was a rumble from the creature below her.

"Well I think you look rather becoming with one of our faces on you." Kura chuckled.

Vera patted the panther's head. "You vain cat." She tsked. "You think every human would look better with a cat's face."

Kura sniffed, lifting her whiskers. "It's not my fault you humans are so ugly. All hairless, and fangless, and fragile." The cat's tail thumped Vera's back thoughtfully. "Of course, you don't look nearly as bad as _some_ humans."

"Oh?" Vera humored her Summon.

Kura's whiskers lifted as she bared her teeth in thought, licking her lips. "Well most humans are just so ugly. They either have narrow chins, or huge, thick chins; some have eyes that are spaced too far apart, while other's have eyes that are too close together. They would look better if they had whiskers, or even a tail! Their ears aren't even in the right spot! And they don't have any teeth either- well, not any teeth that count, anyway. Their so called 'canines' are pathetic compared to the glory of my fangs! And don't even get me started on humans that resemble those blasted snakes!" The panther hissed. "No one likes snakes."

Vera sighed at her mount's vanity. They traveled in companionable silence for a couple hours or so, sometimes interrupted with teasing bantering. Then they would take off at a breakneck speed for another few hours or so before Vera would give Kura time to rest.

It took them nearly all day to reach the base of the small mountain where Vera's hideout was located.

"Dammit, I hate climbing mountains." Kura muttered.

Vera sighed and strapped her mask to her face. "Stop your complaining." She ordered with a slight lilt in her tone that told Kura that Vera found her complaining amusing.

"You're such a slave-driver." Kura said sarcastically before leaping up and into the mountain.

_[~*~*~*]_

"He's asleep right now." Ruko told her as she entered the house and began removing her layers.

"Has he eaten?" she asked softly as she hung her cloak on the rack.

"About three meals." Ruko chuckled. "After he took a shower he went back to bed. I don't blame him. He looked like shit."

Vera cast a glance between Kura and Ruko. "You two are getting into the bad habit of cussing." She admonished them.

The cats shrugged and slunk away to find a place to doze. With a sigh, Vera turned to walk down the hall towards Itachi's room.

_[~*~*~*]_

His senses awoke him the moment he felt a presence at the door. For a split second he wondered whether to defend himself or pretend to be sleeping. And in a split second, he made his decision.

"Still asleep, huh?"

Itachi was surprised to hear a woman's voice from the doorway, but didn't react. He kept his eyes shut, breathing even, and chakra flow steady as her barely audible footsteps neared him. He could tell by the way she walked that she was a shinobi.

The soft hum of chakra filled the air and he nearly blew is façade when healing chakra suddenly entered his body.

"Seems stable." The woman said. And then Itachi could practically hear the smirk in her voice when she added, "You can wake up now."

Itachi had the urge to scowl as he opened his eyes.

He was greeted by a mask. The mask resembled the make-up of an ANBU mask, and yet it was completely black and carved to resemble a panther, probably imitating the panthers that seemed to be this woman's Summons. There were a couple strands of dark brown hair hanging from her hairline, framing the mask. The rest of her hair, from what he could see, was pulled into a bun.

"Would you mind sitting up for me, Itachi?" the woman asked him from behind her mask. "I would like to check your lungs now."

Itachi complied quietly, the sheet piling in his lap as he pushed himself up.

"Arigato." She thanked him as her hands began to glow. Itachi studied her gloved hands carefully. They were made of leather, and looked quite worn. The steel points on her knuckles looked like they could punch a hole in someone's face. As her arms moved, her long sleeves shifted up just barely, and he was able to glimpse what looked to be tattoos. Interesting.

Itachi made to get up, but then she pushed him back down.

"I have clothes for you sitting on the bed." She stated, nodding her head to the opposite corner of the bed. "At least wait until I am out of the room before you go walking around in all your naked glory."

Itachi almost laughed. Almost.

"I'll have a meal waiting for you when you get dressed and come to the kitchen." She said as she left the room.

When the door closed, Itachi got out of bed and walked around it to the clothes folded neatly at its edge. There was even a ponytail sitting on top. Changing quickly, Itachi pulled his hair back and exited the room, following the smell of food from the kitchen.

Itachi stopped as he entered the living room and blinked.

He could have sworn there had only been one cat. Now two panthers lounged in front of the fireplace, both broad, yet one was slightly smaller and had two earrings on its right ear. This new panther opened one golden eye to give Itachi a once-over before going back to sleep. Itachi didn't like the feeling of weakness he felt around these creatures.

"Forgive their laziness." The woman said to Itachi as he entered the kitchen, somehow reading his mind. She set a plate of steaming broth on the table for him as he sat down.

"Felines and their habits." She shrugged.

"We can hear you; and may I remind you these 'habits' are your habits too, kit." A guttural female's voice came from the living room.

The woman snickered from under her mask. "That's Kura. She's Ruko's sister. I would assume you have already been introduced to Ruko?"

Itachi nodded as he began to devour the soup.

"Silent as ever, huh?" she muttered.

Itachi blinked. "You speak as if you know me. I do not even know your name."

There was a pause as the two shinobi stared at each other, assessing and studying the other. After a minute or so, the mysterious woman let out a soft 'Hn' that somewhat resembled a chuckle.

"Call me Vera."

Itachi gave the woman a doubtful look. "Whether I call you that or not… What is your real name?"

_Clickityclickclick._

_Clickityclickclick._

_Clickityclickclick._

Her nails rapped on the wooden table as she seemed to contemplate her answer. It annoyed Itachi that he couldn't read the woman's face with her mask on, and yet she was able to read every line on Itachi's face. Not that his face usually gave anything away.

She began to tap her nails again.

"I said you may call me Vera. Then call me Vera." Vera stood up. "It is my only name now, Itachi-san."

Itachi felt as if the woman was suddenly distancing herself from him when she added '-san' to his name. He would have to analyze it later.

"And dinner?"

Uchiha translation: What about your dinner?

Vera waved her hand dismissively. "I already ate."

Now that she was out of sight, Itachi did scowl. After the whole Tobi/Madara crap, he was beginning to hate masks. A lot.

_[~*~*~*]_

Tsunade sighed as she leaned back in her chair. She fisted her hair in her left hand while the right held a bottle of sake.

"Sakura."

Said girl looked up. "Yes Lady Tsunade?" she asked nervously.

Ever since Vera left, Tsunade had been acting strangely. Sakura found that her temper was shorter than usual, and she had been drinking more often (which was saying something). Shizune sat next to Sakura in the office, both of Tsunade's apprentices waiting for Tsunade to make a decision with whatever she was struggling with.

An evil smile crept onto their shisou's face and both women became alarmed.

"I do believe it is time we thoroughly checked the archive."

Shizune and Sakura paled.

"Wait- 'we'?" Shizune asked.

Tsunade nodded, a grim line on her lips. "Yep." She took a drink from the bottle. "Konoha is hiding too many secrets and I'm tired of these secrets coming back to bite me in the ass. It's time I investigated. _Everything._"

"That's going to take centuries." Sakura deadpanned.

Tsunade pointed a finger at Sakura, who flinched away as an instinct from years of serving the stern woman. "Not if we check… _the secret room_."

Everything was surprisingly anticlimactic after that statement, and Tsunade felt a cloud of depression settle over her. "What? No fanfare?" she moped.

"Uh… Shisou…" Sakura began, unsure of why Tsunade was so put out about the lack of reaction. "What is 'the secret room?"

Shizune glanced at Sakura. "It's a room where the village's darkest secrets are kept." Shizune explained to her slowly, while watching Tsunade out of the corner of her eye for an opening in the Hokage's defenses.

"That's right!" Tsunade began to slur, and that told Shizune that it was time to confiscate the sake if they were going to get any work done.

"It's where the most classified of classified missions are recorded and sealed away for all eternity! Never to see the light of day!" the Hokage was clearly inebriated.

Sakura lifted an eyebrow. "'Classified of classified'? That's the best you could come up with?"

Tsunade set the bottle down and stood up, slamming both hands on the desk. "Stop patronizing me!" she exclaimed, yet the Sakura and Shizune were unaffected by her outburst. They had become immune over the years.

Seeing her opening, Shizune snatched the sake bottle off the desk.

"SHIZUNE!" Tsunade roared, but Shizune had already thrown the bottle out the window and was dusting her hands together with a smug smile on her face. Somewhere below the bottle crashed, a woman screamed, and a cat yowled. Five seconds later Sakura heard Genma's unmistakable cussing. The girl smirked.

"Now." She turned to Sakura and Tsunade. "Let's get to work."

Sakura groaned. "Come one Kuryuu." The rosette motioned her hand for the sleeping panther to follow her. "Tsunade-sama, lead the way."

The Godaime led the women and the panther to the base of the Hokage mountain, on the side of the mountain that faced the Valley of the End. A cold wind managed to blow its way to them from the ominous valley as Tsunade made the hand seals to release the barrier protecting the passage. Shizune and Sakura shivered as Kuryuu flattened his ears, disliking the dark aura emanating from the direction of the Valley of the End. There was a deep rumble as a door appeared on the side of the mountain, and Tsunade opened it for them.

As the trio of women, accompanied by one black panther, made their way into deep into the heart of the Hokage mountain, the air seemed to get colder. Their steps echoed into the dank abyss in a steady rhythm, interrupted now and again by the dripping of water. Tsunade held her lamp aloft as she led them down the dark stairs, turning at random turns.

Sakura's head grew dizzy from remembering the turns, and as time stretched on in the passageway, she began to feel claustrophobic.

"Am I the only one who feels like they can't breathe?" she whispered breathily, barely audible, and yet her words echoed painfully through the caverns, making Sakura wince.

Shizune, Tsunade, and Kuryuu all nodded in agreement, but no one else talked for the remainder of the passage.

_Tak._

_Tak._

_Tak._

Went their heels.

_Clip._

_Clip._

_Clip._

Went Kuryuu's paws as his claws connected with the floor.

It seemed to take nearly an hour before they reached a faded dark green door. By now Sakura had begun to wonder just how far into the mountain they had gone. Were they even under the mountain anymore? They could be under the village by now!

The sight of the door made her want to cry out in relief.

"Here we are." Tsunade said grimly.

It took nearly five minutes just for Tsunade to finish all the hand seals alone. "Release."

Sakura could literally feel the pulsation of the release as sealing chakra was released in gentle waves. She even felt her hair stir slightly from the seal. "Whoa…" she murmured.

Feeling a hand place itself on her shoulder, Sakura turned to see Shizune giving her a comforting smile. Sakura smiled back. Then the two women turned back to face their Hokage with serious expressions.

The cold stone suddenly turned to a faded red carpet as they entered what looked to be an ordinary library. But everything in this room was classified. And if there was a word to describe 'more than classified' this was the place to use it. Sakura gazed around in awe of the place.

"So… what exactly are we looking for?" Shizune asked Tsunade.

Tsunade turned to them for a moment, motioning for Shizune to close the door. Complying, Shizune motioned for Kuryuu to enter before she shut the door and the Hokage led her two apprentices to the back of the circular room.

Shelves enclosed them in a large circle, scrolls and books lining the shelves. There were many empty shelves, though; the closer one looked at the top. Even then, the shelves seemed to stretch vertically for miles. Suddenly the weight of what they were going to have to search through finally hit her.

"Don't tell me we are going to look through… _all _these." Sakura muttered, dumbfounded.

Tsunade sighed. "I wish I had my sake." She rubbed her forehead. "We need to find anything that mentions the Uchiha… and more importantly, the Shiuta."

Shizune glanced sharply at Sakura as the pinkette stiffened.

"The… Shiuta?" Sakura repeated.

"Yes." Tsunade nodded. "Is there a problem?"

Sakura shook her head. "No…"

"You don't sound very sure of that, Sakura." Shizune gave her a meaningful look as she placed her hands on her hips.

Sakura shook her head. "It was nothing." She assured them. The young medic gave the entire library a once-over before sighing. "Let's get to work then…"

All three women groaned as they began searching through the shelves.

_[~*~*~*]_

"I never want to look at a scroll again." Shizune stated.

Tsunade and Sakura groaned in agreement.

Tsunade smacked her head against the nearest bookshelf. "Need. Sake. Now."

Sakura's arms flailed momentarily in the air. "I… agree…" she mumbled.

"Now, now." Shizune tried to coax her two alcoholic friends. "Getting wasted isn't the answer-"

"Hell yes it is!" Tsunade cried and summoned a mini-Katsuyu.

"You called mistress?" Katsuyu bobbed in Tsunade's hand.

"Go out there, find me five bottles of good sake, and bring them back here."

The slug sighed and poofed away, muttering about lack of respect and not being a mere serving-slug.

Shizune slapped a hand over her forehead. "I give up."

"Now then." Tsunade clapped her hands together. "Let's gather everything we've found so far."

Just then they all looked to see a small cloud appear to reveal Katsuyu, slightly larger than last time. "Here's your sake." The slug muttered darkly.

In that second of distraction only Kuryuu saw Sakura snatch up a few scrolls and tuck them discreetly into her pouches and the pockets of her cloaks.

"Ah… that's the stuff." Tsunade sighed as she drank the sake. "The taste of heaven!"

Shizune and Sakura sweatdropped.

"Here!" Tsunade thrust the bottle into Sakura's hands and reached for a second one.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune scolded, but her arguing died when she saw Sakura begin to drink the alcohol greedily. Shizune groaned. "Can't we go over the information we've found first and get wasted later?!"

Tsunade paused, a pout on her face. "Grrr… I hate it when you're right."

Sakura sighed sadly, and put the sake bottle aside. "Yeah…"

"Thank you for your help, Katsuyu." Tsunade released her Summon. "Now let's get this over with so I can drink!"

"With the sheer amount of research we've done I doubt this will be over anytime soon." Shizune muttered.

Sakura glanced at her fellow apprentice. "How long do you think we've been down here?"

"About a day… Or two." Shizune answered.

"Whaaaaaaaaaat?" Sakura exclaimed. "Then who is filling in for the Hokage?!"

There was an evil cackle, and both women turned to see their blonde shisou with demonic flames in her eyes. "Muwahahahaha! I roped Kakashi in of course! That'll teach that insolent bastard to give disrespect _me_!"

"You…" Shizune began.

"Left our village…" Sakura continued.

"In the hands…"

"Of Kakashi-sensei." Sakura deadpanned.

The two medics turned to each other and slapped their palms across their eyes to hide their horror.

"There goes the village…" Sakura wiped away an invisible tear.

There was a silence.

And then a giggle.

Tsunade.

Just.

Giggled.

"Revenge is sweet…" she hissed and began laughing madly again. She was so, so, hopelessly drunk.

Shizune allowed her face to slam itself into the floor and Sakura sweatdropped again.

_Our village is being lead by a sadistic, demonic woman and a perverted, lazy ass. Kami help us._

"Okay then!" Tsunade clapped, way too happy to be anything other than drunk. "Let's start brainstorming!"

"With whatever is left of our brains…" Shizune muttered, Sakura nodding sympathetically. "So what have we found?"

Tsunade glanced around at the scrolls and books scattered on the floor. "Absolutely nothing. Well- I know that the Shiuta joined Konohagakure during the Second Shinobi War. And… well, that's it."

"However I think I found some interesting documents regarding the Council, Danzo, and one Uchiha Itachi." Shizune smirked in victory as Sakura and Tsunade focused on her. The raven haired woman spread out a series of scrolls between the three of them, and the room seemed to darken as poisonous secrets spilled forth.

_[~*~*~*]_

The days were some of the most peaceful in Itachi's entire life, if not some of the most boring.

He would wake up and get dressed. Vera would heal him and then make breakfast. She always ate breakfast before Itachi awoke, which frustrated him to no end. The woman always seemed to eat when he wasn't looking, and that damned mask never moved. It was as frustrating as Kakashi-sempai.

Sometimes they would go to the garden to pick vegetables and fruit, her panther Summons always bringing back meat. Vera had a particularly delicious rabbit stew. Itachi was amused, though, that as content as she was living in the mountain hut, she often bemoaned the lack of sushi.

As she was doing now.

"What I would give for some sashimi." The woman growled as she cleaned a large carp she had caught in the nearby river over the sink.

Itachi allowed a twitch on his face, but he did not comment.

"Can't get any decent nori for miles around in this backwater." She muttered from the kitchen.

Itachi chuckled softly, yet still trying to concentrate on the book he was reading. Vera had a surprising amount of literature in such a rural place, the bookshelf in her room filled to the brim.

"Well I'll be damned; I do believe the stick up your ass just loosened." Vera walked into the living room wiping her hands on a towel. It was an odd picture- she looked almost like a normal housewife. With an ominous mask and a weapon pouch.

Itachi inwardly sighed. His life was never normal, was it?

Then he scowled as he processed Vera's words. "Was that comment necessary?"

Vera shrugged. "_I_ think it was."

He glared at her back after Vera had turned around to check on the oven. Cheeky woman. No woman had ever dared speak to Uchiha Itachi in such a way.

"If you're done pouting, dinner is ready." Vera called from the kitchen. Two oversized cats snickered by the fireplace.

Itachi glared at them.

"Don't blame us for her attitude." Ruko chuckled.

Kura's tail twitched in amusement. "She is like that on her own. It's probably why we panthers accepted her so easily."

Itachi didn't verbalize his question, deigning to give them a glance that told them to elaborate.

Kura shrugged (Itachi had no idea cats could shrug before he met the panthers). "Mistress acts like one of us-"

"My sister means to say mistress' attitude is similar to a feline." Ruko quickly corrected.

Kura scowled at her brother for interrupting.

"Itachi, I'm almost finished eating." Vera's voice teased from the kitchen.

He scowled. Vera knew he was irked by her mask, and she often teased him about that. This woman _teased_ him. And Uchiha Itachi did not like to be toyed with. In the blink of an eye, using his superspeed, Itachi flashed to the entrance to the kitchen, hoping to surprise the woman as he walked into the kitchen with nonchalance.

Yet there she was, sitting innocently in front of her finished dinner plate, staring up at him with delight from behind her mask. She was enjoying this way too much.

"Pig." Itachi said as he sat down gracefully and began to dish up his plate. Tonight was teriyaki salmon with rice. Simple but good.

"Excuse me?" Vera gasped in mock offense, sounding more amused then insulted.

"You obviously stuffed yourself in the small amount of time you had before I arrived." Itachi taunted in a monotone voice, looking for all the world as if he were commenting on the weather. "And so you are a pig."

"I am fascinated by your sense of logic." Vera sounded completely _un_fascinated. "And you, my dear 'Tachi-kun, obviously couldn't resist trying to catch me without my mask on."

Itachi blinked at her without emotion and continued eating.

Vera chuckled to herself and excused herself from the table, putting the dirty dishes in the sink. "Well, I'm off to bed. See ya in the morning."

She began to walk out of the room.

"Do you have scars?"

Vera stopped. "I'm sorry?"

"Is that why you wear that mask?" Itachi cursed his curiosity for getting the better of him.

There was an uncomfortable pause.

Finally, she spoke, in a soft, serious voice.

"I have my own reasons, Itachi-san. But know that my mask is for protection, however paranoid that may seem."

Vera swept out of the room.

There it was again. Itachi-_san_. Whenever Vera seemed to be relaxing her guard around him, she would once again create that rift between them. Then again, Itachi was not the easiest person to bond with. Itachi continued to eat in silence, musing over her words. Paranoid huh?

_What kind of life was she living that she couldn't show her face? Who could she really be? Surely not an ordinary nuke-nin…_

Finished with his meal, Itachi left his dishes in the sink and went to his room. That night, he came to a conclusion. Vera was a puzzle, and like his past, her pieces seemed to be under layers of illusion.

Itachi decided it would be very interesting to figure this woman out.

_[~*~*~*]_

"_Get out of there, Aito!"_

_**Boom.**_

"_Aito-kun!"_

"_Chiyemi, Hideo-san, we need to leave __now__!"_

_**Boom!**_

"_Not without Aito-kun!"_

"_Chiyemi, he's gone!"_

"_NO!"_

"_He's dead. Everyone retreat." She ordered._

_**Ka-boom!**_

"_The battlefield is no place to grieve. We leave now."_

"_But his body-!"_

"_Hideo-san, grab her. It's too late."_

Her eyes snapped open. Shuddering, Vera snatched off her mask, taking in deep, uneven breaths. War was not something one experienced at a young age without being scarred. She could still smell the burning flesh, and acrid smoke. She could still imagine young Aito being blown to bits.

Vera ran a hand through her unbound hair. Reluctantly, she closed her eyes, knowing all that waited for her was her memories…

"_Are you looking for someone, ANBU-san?" a young voice asked her from below._

_Looking down, she smiled behind her mask and patted the boy's unruly hair, earning a pout._

"_I'm waiting for you brother. Is he home?"_

_The boy shook his head. "Aniki is in a meeting with the clan. One day I'll grow up and be at the meetings too!"_

_She chuckled. "You're already getting pretty big there."_

_The little boy puffed up, making her laughed a little more._

"_Okay, well, when he is done, tell him to meet the team at the gates. We have another mission." She told him, then muttering under her breath, "The Hokage is working us to the bone, the old coot."_

_The young boy looked crestfallen._

"_Is something the matter?" Had she hurt his feelings?_

"_Aniki is always going on missions… Ugh, never mind." With a cloud of depression hanging over him, he began to turn away._

_She sighed, cursing her weakness. "Feeling lonely?"_

_The boy stopped and nodded._

"_What do you like to eat? As a treat."_

_The boy thought for a moment. "Tomatoes!"_

"_Eh?! Tomatoes? What kind of treat is that?"_

_The boy crossed his arms stubbornly. "I like them. Have a problem with that?"_

_She laughed and held up her hands in surrender. "No, no problem. Uh, I guess I'll take you to the market then. I know a lady who grows the best fruits and vegetables."_

"_Okay!"_

_Such an exuberant boy, she observed. So unlike his older brother. And this one wasn't as pompous with a stick shoved up his ass. She chuckled at her thoughts._

With a sigh, Vera forced herself awake again, not willing to let anymore memories surface. The past, even with its few happy moments, was a painful thing for her. There was so much she wished she could have changed.

"_So what are we going to do, just lie down and let them do with us as they please?!" she shrieked._

"_I will do what is right." He answered solemnly._

"_Right for whom?" she shot back with venom. "The village or our family?"_

_The head of the Shiuta scowled. "Do you question your own loyalty? We are honor-bound."_

"_Screw honor-bound, we won't have any honor left if we are __**dead**__." She snarled._

"_Do not speak of such things. You are suggesting that we go against Konoha." He stood from his seat._

_Mirroring him so as not to be intimidated, she stood as well. "They would kill us! All of us!"_

_He shook his head. "That is absurd. They wouldn't order such a thing."_

"_Would they?" she questioned fiercely._

"_I tire of your rebelliousness." He told her in a warning tone._

"_And I tire of diplomacy." She stated. "They are obviously corrupt, and if you cannot see that, you are a bigger idiot than I thought-"_

_**Smack!**_

_**Thud.**_

_Knowing better than to push him farther than she already had, she did not attempt to rise. Grimacing, she knew she would have a bruise from the floor on one side of her face and a bruise from his backhand on the other. That would not be appealing._

"_Know your place, woman."_

_She seethed._

"_The council does what is right for the village." He crouched lower and she resisted the urge to cringe away from the large man. "I will not have their spies hear such blasphemy from one of my clan. Do not condemn us with your wild accusations." He whispered from above._

_She put her arm under her and pushed herself to sit up. Watching her clan leader approach the door, she laid out her trump card._

"_Look what they did to the Haruno clan." She spat, ignoring the blood in her mouth from his hit. She was surprised he had not continued to beat her._

_Her clan leader froze. Saying nothing, the man exited the room. She stumbled to her feet and made her way through the corridors to her room, locking the door and heading to her bathroom._

"_Oh dear." She sighed, looking at the handprint on her left cheek and the floor print on her right. "What a bastard."_


	5. Monsters In The Dark

**Le gasp. She finally updated! lol sorry about the wait. Here you go:**

**I DONT OWN NARUTO. BUT I DO OWN THE STORY AND ALL IDEAS WITHIN.**

_Chapter 5: Monsters In The Dark_

Itachi woke to the faint chinking of metal against metal and the soft rustle of leather. There was the familiar whisper of a blade sliding into its sheath, making Itachi leap out from under the covers and yank open the door. He saw Kura and Ruko sitting at attention by the door, but they did not seem alarmed.

Vera walked out of the kitchen and caught sight of Itachi. "It is late, Itachi, and you still need your rest. You should be in bed." she admonished softly.

But the Uchiha paid little heed to her words as he studied her outfit. Vera had put on her armor made from plates of dark grey nearly black metal, light enough that her movements were unrestricted and form-fitting so that her body's small figure could easily hide in the shadows. The plates guarded her shoulders, legs, torso, and forearms. Where there was no armor, a rich deep red fabric, nearly black if it were not for the angle of the lighting, covered her skin.

Her feet were not in boots as he would expect, but clothed in black shoes that looked more like slippers. But Itachi soon understood why she wore them when she walked towards him and her feet didn't even seem to touch the ground, they were so silent.

Experienced eyes quickly darted over her figure, expertly guessing where various weapons were no doubt hidden on her person, not counting her obvious swords, daggers, and kunai pouch. Her mask completed the outfit, making Vera seem like a mythical cat warrior, the only ears visible were the cat ears on her mask. Her dark hair was pulled into a bun at the base of her neck, held in place by a hair tie and two chopsticks (which looked to have been sharpened).

"Leaving?" Itachi asked.

Vera nodded. "I have business to attend to."

Itachi's eyes looked pointedly at the array of pointy objects on her person.

"I never leave this place without full gear on." Vera explained. "You seem like the type of man to be very experienced with the term 'precaution'."

Itachi merely nodded his head. "I see."

"Ruko will be staying with you." She said as she turned towards the door, giving Itachi a view of the pair of sickly jagged swords, comparable to sickle swords but straighter with more jagged edges and a curving.

She walked over to an alcove in the wall near the door, where her gloves rested next to a scroll. Vera looked up at Itachi as she tugged on her gloves, hiding the scroll in her pack.

"Rest and eat well." She ordered. "I want you to be fully healed when I return."

Itachi lifted an eyebrow as if asking 'Is that supposed to be an order?' but Vera ignored his slight show of arrogance. He did not move as the woman turned to mutter something to Kura. The cat growled something back and then Vera opened the door to let Kura onto the deck.

Vera turned back to Itachi, seeming to attempt to say something to him before she hesitated.

"It-" Vera's words died and she let out a sigh of frustration from behind her mask. "Just… don't leave the grounds. That means don't enter the forest; only go to the edge of the meadow."

Itachi looked at her curiously, but Vera abruptly turned and walked out the door. After a second of wondering about her behavior, Itachi opened the door to watch as Vera, riding proudly upon Kura, disappear into the foliage of the mountain forest. The Uchiha leaned against the porch rail, his thoughts in turmoil.

"You are troubled." A guttural voice sounded behind him as Ruko padded lazily onto the porch, flopping down in the morning sun, newly risen.

Itachi did not respond.

"Is it my mistress' behavior? Or my mistress herself?" Ruko asked.

"My thoughts are my own." Itachi said emotionlessly.

"She is a riddle, isn't she?" The cat rumbled in soft laughter before his voice became serious. "But I will warn you, Uchiha."

Itachi's eyes slid to the panther.

"Do not intrude on her past." Ruko's eyes slid open, piercing Itachi with wild gold irises. "The Lady is not to be crossed."

There was a tense pause. Then, without commenting, Itachi turned and entered the house again. Ruko sighed and laid his ears onto his paws, closing his eyes and basking under the sun.

"Why do I get the feeling that boy will cause trouble?" Ruko muttered to himself.

_[~*~*~*]_

"Hey pretty lady."

Her eyes did not look his way.

"Aw don't be like that babe."

She snorted. "I am _not_ your babe."

"What if I ordered you a drink?"

The man continued to eye her like a piece of meat, her short blond hair reflecting in his eyes, deep blue eyes concentrating on the glass she was nursing. She lifted one perfectly arched eyebrow, the blond hairs glowing against her olive skin. Did this guy honestly think such cheap tricks were going to work? She was not impressed. She was not desperate.

When the guy sat on the bar stool next to hers, Vera's eyes slid to glance at her suitor. She was definitely not impressed. Fingers tapping impatiently on the wood of the bar, she wondered for the thousandth time where her contact was. Vera glanced at the clock.

_Five minutes to four._ Her thoughts worried. _Five more minutes and I will have to assume he was killed. Then I'll be looking for his body._

The prospect was not good news.

"Hey girl." The flirt next to her was just a little too close for her liking. Idiot. Did he not see the weapons? "Why don't you and I-"

"Oh shut it." Vera snapped and abruptly stood up. "Before I decide to cut out your tongue."

The man gulped at the scary woman. It finally seemed to dawn on the moron that flirting with a kunoichi was dangerous. Especially one who was _just not interested._

The man shrank back and watched as the woman with the killer aura sauntered out of the bar, everyone scuttling out of her way after they had witnessed Vera threaten the man. She had seemed quite intent on carrying out her threat. She hadn't hidden her weapons after all, why wouldn't she use them?

Vera scowled in annoyance as she walked out of the bar. Without a second thought she took to the rooftops, headed towards the trees at the southern edge of the town. She had been expecting her spy to come from that direction; it would be the best place to search. Pessimistic thoughts ran through her mind. After all, she had learned that when her spies did not show up, that usually meant that they had been found. Rarely did the captured survive.

Entering the cover of the trees, Vera allowed her henge to drop, her mask once again becoming her face and her hair once again the long brown locks pulled into a bun. Pushing out tendrils of chakra, she sensed for any disturbances in the forest. Her first clue was an increased thrumming in a tree nearly half a mile southwest of her position.

Feet light on the dense forest floor, Vera ran silently towards the disruption in the energy. As she got closer, her chakra net picked up more disturbances, faint and undetectable unless one knew what to look for. There was a nearly nonexistent chakra trail, remnants of its owner's presence. Vera concentrated her chakra, picking up the life forces of birds of prey, rodents, and a wild dog pack hovering nearby. Yet the animals had not dared approach.

Vera's stomach twisted as she got closer. Hiding her chakra, Vera went by sight in the dusk, keeping to the shadows as she drew closer. Crouching on a branch of a tree, she gazed at the sight below her, sadness lancing through her. She recognized the face of the body on the ground.

About to leap out of the tree, Vera nearly slipped off her feet when the dark aura of the lingering chakra hit her. She gasped and landed next to the body, kneeling and placing her hands to turn him fully onto his back.

"Tai…" she whispered, closing her eyes behind her mask in sorrow."If I had known you would have been the one sent on this mission… I never would have let you go."

Heavy with regret, Vera began to search the body of her comrade, ignoring the gaping holes in the flesh and the day-old blood. Her hands did not tremble as she fearlessly dove into the open wounds for any evidence, her gloves turning red. Breathing through her mouth, Vera tore apart the cut on Tai's left shoulder, looking closely at the white bone showing through. Feeling with her fingers, she searched for what she had felt earlier while skimming over his wounds. Vera's blood ran cold when she identified a chip of a tooth stuck on the bone.

_Teeth._ Alarm bells were screaming in her ear just as the dark chakra became heavier.

Vera inwardly cursed and whirled around, leaping into the trees just in time to dodge the barrage of kunai and senbon hailing down on her previous position. Tai's body now looked like a pincushion, yet Vera's mind barely registered this as she searched the growing shadows for the attacker, though she was quite aware of who it was. A dark chuckle echoed unnaturally through the trees. The sound should not have bounced around as it had, making Vera confused.

"I have heard of you." The voice was like the velvet that hid a dagger. "Few know of your existence, yet among those who do, you are feared and revered. An assassin of the black market, leaving no traces behind of herself with every kill. If it weren't for your satisfied customers, no one would be the wiser. Who would have thought the spies that have been a nuisance to my organization for so long would finally lead back to you?"

Her senses were going in circles as she tried to sense where his voice was coming from, but it seemed to be emanating from everywhere, even within her head.

"They call you the Black Pantheress, Black Cat, Masked Cat, Clawed Assassin, et cetera." The voice chuckled. "How highly unimaginative."

Vera dared not reply. Anything she did could give something away to this man.

"Doth the lady speak?" the voice suddenly concentrated itself behind her, and before she could react, she felt a body move behind her and felt warm breath on her ear.

Red eyes sneered at their captive. "Such a lithe young thing… I bet you are very beautiful underneath that mask."

Vera twisted and leaped away from him. But the shadows swallowed his form and suddenly he appeared behind her, seeming to teleport through the shadows to reach her.

"Ah- Ah- Ah." He tutted in disapproval. "Stop being so coy, my dear."

Vera mentally cursed as his hand wrapped around her throat and shoved her against a tree, pressing his heavy body onto hers to keep her from moving. The light was gone now, and Vera was only able to make out an outline of long spiky hair and glowing red eyes.

"You have been looking into secrets best left untouched my dear. However I must commend you for how long you have managed to slip under my radar. Just how long have you been gathering information about the Akatsuki? Years, perhaps?" The shadow sneered. "No matter, you will be dead before I leave. Now… how to punish you?"

Vera attempted to struggle again; even just one hand sign would give put her back in the fight!

"Feisty." He laughed. "How about I reveal one of you secrets, hm?"

Without warning Vera felt cool air on her face, the breeze splaying stray hairs onto her forehead, her eyes staring up in fear.

She could almost hear the smirk in his voice as he said, "My, you _are_ beautiful. Stunning even."

A shriek of anger erupted through his hold on her throat when he threw her mask to the forest floor. It did not break when it landed on the soft grass, but Vera knew that he was going to try to uncover the bottom portion of her face next, and she did not want to risk those eyes of his memorizing her face her recognizing her traits. As he reached to pull down the cloth mask, Vera managed to free a knee, and plunged her sharp, armor covered knee into his torso.

The man grunted in pain and she threw herself down to the earth, barely managing to land on her feet, falling to her hands and knees after impact. Her breathing was heavy as she scrambled to her mask and snatches it up before taking to the trees. Curses followed her as she ran.

_I can't face him!_ Her thoughts went into panic. Her eyes narrowed as she wracked her mind for an escape plan.

So much information was contained in her mind, information she need to defeat him and the others. If he knew who she was… what she knew… Vera shook her head, strapping on her mask. He would _not_ find out.

"Do you know who I am?" He bellowed after her; his speed was inhuman!

Suddenly his larger form loomed in front of her, and she glimpsed his face in the starlight. Vera gasped. Though she had known who he was… seeing his face, in the flesh, made her pale.

His name was uttered from her lips in mortification before she could stop herself. "Madara…"

He grinned maniacally.

"Indeed."

_[~*~*~*]_

"_Will you be come back soon?"_

_She looked back at the little pinkette. "Sorry Saki, but I'm afraid this mission will last a long time."_

_Sakura pouted. "But you will come to my birthday right?"_

_She sighed heavily. "No, I won't be able to come." __**To this one, to the next one, or any after that… **__she thought sadly._

"_Why are you leaving?"_

_She plastered a smile on her face for the girl. "I need to find a couple people. You know the usual ninja business- kicking butt, taking names, saving lives."_

_Sakura giggled._

"_You grow strong, Saki." She ruffled the girl's hair. "I believe in you!"_

_"And I believe in you!" Sakura called as Vera turned to walk away, headed towards the village gates. "I wanna be a good ninja like you someday!"_

_Vera frowned as she exited the gates, their large doors slamming shut._

_**I am not good at all.**__ Vera pulled down her ANBU mask, two red tear marks flowing down the porcelain, red tendrils drifting off from the main line in elegant swirls. __**I am a monster.**_

**Its updated guys! Aren't you all happy? (say yes)**

**REVIEW. Lots of love guys. ~Lilithia**


	6. Secrets

_Chapter Six: Secrets_

As usual, the hospital was relatively calm when many of the ninja teams were out on missions. Which meant that when they came back, the place would be chaos, as usual as well. What was _un_usual was the small black panther currently dozing on her office couch.

Sakura sighed and put her pen down, finished signing all the forms for the day. She stacked them neatly on the left side of the desk. With a small groan, she slumped onto the desk, closing her eyes.

"Haruno-san."

Sakura glanced up at the sound of a guttural, deep voice she could mistake for no other. "Yes Kuryuu?"

The panther slunk off the couch lazily, muscles rippling. "I suggest putting those scrolls somewhere other than the vault in this office."

Sakura jerked off the desk in surprise, knocking over her pencil holding, writing apparatuses of all kinds clattering to the floor loudly. Ignoring them, Sakura stared wide eyed at Kuryuu. "Huh?"

The cat snorted. "Don't play fool, Haruno, it is unbecoming of your name."

Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"Those scrolls will not be safe here." Kuryuu told her. "You should know that."

"Hmph." Sakura turned to look at a painting hanging on the wall behind her desk area above some short bookshelves. It depicted a sakura tree, petals fluttering away on the wind. Behind it was the safe Kuryuu spoke of.

Shooting a glare at the annoying panther, Sakura activated the wards around her room, soundproofing it and keeping out unwanted guests. Then she stood and removed the painting, turning the dial on the lock until it clicked open.

The smell of old parchment wafted out, filling her nose with the familiar scent. Reverently, Sakura took the scrolls into her arms, gently placing them on her desk before closing the vault and replacing the painting over it. Then she turned around to the scrolls again, glancing at the old red wax, the Haruno crest imprinted on it fading away. The parchment was stiff and browning, with very few spots on it.

The temptation to break open the seal and read the secrets within was strong, but Sakura shook her head and instead placed a strong genjutsu over them. With the scrolls now resembling medical texts, she unlocked the door to her office with one hand, balancing the pile of 'medical texts' in the other.

Kuryuu slipped out behind her, waiting patiently for her to close up her office. Shizune happened to be passing by, glancing over to see Sakura struggling to lock her office door with only one hand without disturbing the alarmingly tall pile of papers in the other.

"Sakura!" Shizune gasped, walking over to her. "Let me help you with those."

Sakura's eyes widened in a moment of panic. "NO!"

Shizune paused.

"Er, I mean... I got it. See?" Sakura smiled innocently, holding up her door keys triumphantly. "Well, I'm headed home. Look after the hospital while I'm gone."

Shizune nodded uncertainly as Sakura quickly stepped around her. "Um, yeah, of course." She glanced outside. "But you never take off early…"

Sakura hesitated. "Oh, well I have a, um, project at home that I've been working on. So I want to get home soon to have time to work on it."

"O-Okay." Shizune smiled, dismissing Sakura's odd behavior. "See you tomorrow!"

Sakura threw a smile over her shoulder, and then walked out of the hospital, a black panther in tow.

"Good thinking." Kuryuu complimented when they left the building. "But not quick enough."

"Oh hush you." Sakura muttered. "I panicked."

"I could tell."

Sakura huffed. "Well I'm sorry I'm not a good liar."

"Then what kind of shinobi are you?" Kuryuu asked. "My mistress always says the first step to making a cover story believable is to make yourself believe it first. You did not have confidence in your story."

"We can't all be masters of lying." Sakura growled, casting a couple smiles and nodding her head to her neighbors as they passed by the famous medic.

Kuryuu let out a dry, bitter laugh. "She didn't have much of a choice."

By now they had reached Sakura's small condo, and she glanced at the panther curiously as she balanced the scrolls in one arm, her other hand fishing around for her keys in her pocket.

"What do you mean by 'she didn't have much of a choice'?" she asked Kuryuu as she managed to unlock and open her front door, carefully entering sideways to fit in her load.

The cat followed right behind her, kicking the door closed as Sakura headed to the dining table to deposit the scrolls. After locking the door, Sakura went to pick up the scrolls again, releasing her genjutsu around it. Kuryuu followed her into her home office as he explained with a simple sentence.

"She would have been dead." He deadpanned.

Sakura froze, her back to the panther, arm still outreached to deactivate the jutsus protecting her home safe. This safe was located behind a bookshelf that slid into the wall.

"W-What?" she stuttered out, opening the safe with a suddenly stiff hand.

Kuryuu sighed. "It was an indefinite mission, Haruno-san. She had to take precautions."

Sakura shook her head as she placed the Haruno scrolls into her safe. "Precautions?"

"Are you not curious as to what those scrolls say?" Kuryuu's voice was suddenly serious, not distant or lazy. It was as if the scrolls she was holding had something to do with the answer to her question.

"What?" What was Kuryuu trying to tell her?

Suddenly the cat was standing beside Sakura, eyeing her hand still on one of the scrolls. "Tell me, young Haruno: Do you know about your clan? Are you aware of what those scrolls are for?"

Trembles racked her hand as Sakura's bright green eyes locked onto the parchment, gazing down in wide eyed fear. Kuryuu's eyes studied the Haruno's reaction carefully.

"It would seem…" his voice echoed into the tense quiet. "That you _are_ aware. And you do know. So then why do you play innocent? Are you… _ashamed_?"

Sakura bit her lip, closing her eyes in pain before snapping them open and slamming the safe's door shut, activating all the protection jutsus around it and pushing the hidden button that made the bookshelf slide back into place.

"Stop." She hissed, rounding on Kuryuu. "What do the actions of my clan have to do with _Vera's_ mission?" Sakura sneered his mistress' name.

Kuryuu seemed unperturbed by her reaction. "It has everything to do with her mission."

Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Three clans: The Haruno, the Shiuta… and the Uchiha." Kuryuu carefully monitored Sakura's reaction, unsurprised when her face suddenly shuttered shut and cold green eyes flashed.

"The Uchiha were massacred." Kuryuu continued. "The Shiuta disappeared mysteriously. Whatever happened to the Haruno? But everyone in Konoha thinks they are nothing but a civilian clan, who moved into the village from another land."

Sakura turned to hide her face.

The panther smirked behind his whiskers. "But they are not a civilian clan, are they?"

…

…

"How would you know?" she whispered.

The cat shrugged. "I have been with the mistress for a long time. I have been with her when she was on her mission."

Suddenly Sakura's eyes locked on his, burning her gaze into his golden one. "Please tell me, what happened to her. To-" she stopped herself from saying the name. "To _Vera_."

The proud animal suddenly slumped, walking into the living room to slouch miserably onto the couch. Sakura followed him, sitting in an armchair. She almost missed the whisper of the panther.

"It was exhausting."

He paused.

"The mistress…" the cat shook his head sadly. "If you had been there… Watching what she had to go through, what her mission was doing to her…"

Sakura nodded. "Battle fatigue." She murmured.

"Not just that." Kuryuu gazed at her, his eyes full of concern for his Mistress. "I watched the mission change her. _What it did to her._"

Sakura tried to grasp the meaning of the inflection of his voice.

"She became unstable." He whispered.

And then she knew. And she felt her heart cry out. "It must have been hard on her."

Kuryuu bore his gold slitted eyes into her own, conveying his anguish, sorrow, and bitter pride. "Eight years.

Eight years away from the only home she ever had. Eight years in exile; unable to return because she was supposed to be dead." Kuryuu blinked as memories flitted across his mind.

"Eight years not knowing if she would live to see the next day. She was all alone for years, without a friend, without backup, and without a safe place to return to. Dealing with people who would kill her if they became suspicious. She couldn't afford to be the person she once was. She had to erase her identity."

Sakura stared in horrified fascination, imagining such a harsh reality.

"Paranoia kept her alive. Forced to hide her true face, her true feelings and loyalties." Kuryuu let out a bark in bitter amusement. "I don't think she's even seen her face in eight years… Probably wouldn't even recognize her own reflection."

Sakura swallowed. "A-As a doctor… The mental stress that would cause… humans need contact. The brain's psychological nature is to seek comfort and friendship in others. Without affection, without excising trust, a person's sanity and social health will deteriorate!"

Kuryuu nodded. "I know. I watched her as she suffered. It is not the worst mental blow she was dealt though."

Sakura could guess the next one. "The killing."

"Know that she has killed before." Kuryuu reminded her. "Remember that she had been ANBU."

Sakura nodded, though her eyes were confused.

Kuryuu understood her confusion. "She was no longer a mere shinobi of her village. Killing a man was no longer just orders. She had to kill by her own judgment. Showing mercy to the wrong person could get her killed. She had to become heartless."

Sakura envisioned the girl she had known. Who was she now? When she had talked to Vera, they had been in the Hokage's office, so naturally diplomacy had been mandatory. Saving Itachi didn't count because Vera had been quiet most of the time, focused on saving his life.

"And then she had to seduce."

Sakura froze. No…

"But…" she closed her eyes in pain. "Oh god… It must have ripped her apart… She already would have been unstable…"

Kuryuu nodded. "It did. But her mission came first. And she would have done anything for her mission. She still would."

"What the hell!" Sakura brushed away angry tears, thinking of the quiet but smiling girl she had looked up to as a child. "That is too much for one person! How could the Sandaime give her such a burden to carry alone?"

"She knew this mission would take much sacrifice." Kuryuu soothed the pinkette. "And the Sandaime could not have imagined what she would find. She was told to use her judgment, and he trusted only her with this mission."

Sakura couldn't argue. He had a point, and she knew Vera did not regret her decision. And if given a second chance, Vera would no doubt do it again.

"It's not fair." She whispered.

"Life is rarely fair."

Sakura rubbed her stinging eyes. "But why her?"

Kuryuu jumped off the couch and padded over to Sakura, sitting next to her legs and laying his head on her lap. Sakura took comfort in rubbing the cat's ears, enjoying the soft, black fur. When he spoke, it was gentle.

"She was the most logical choice." He murmured. "Her entire clan was gone: no family to miss her. And she did not have many friends in the village. She had always been a quiet person, and never interacted much."

Sakura remembered how mysterious the Shiuta clan had been. Just as Uchihas were raised to be stoic and unemotional, Shiuta clan members were raised to be secretive and reclusive. The Haruno clan was one of the few clans who even interacted with the Shiuta, and mostly because the Haruno did business with the Shiuta. As a little girl, Sakura had always been intimidated by the Shiuta members who would visit her father for business discussions.

"You should rest." Kuryuu nuzzled her knee. "You need time to process this information."

"Y-Yeah…" Sakura mumbled, standing slowly and taking uneven steps towards her room. "Kuryuu-kun?"

"Mm?" The cat perked his ears.

Sakura hesitated at the doorway, looking nervous. "I'm… Could you… Um…"

Kuryuu smiled (Sakura had gotten used to the scary smiles of the fanged feline), and trotted over to her. "I'll lay with you tonight, Kit."

Sakura smiled at the endearing term, and quickly changed into slacks and a t-shirt, brushed her teeth, and crawled into bed. The small panther leaped onto the bed, curling up next to her. Sakura relaxed as his powerful heartbeat echoed in the room, lulling her to sleep.

_[~*~*~*]_

"_Hey Saki-chan." Came a quiet but friendly voice behind her._

_The little pink haired child spun around, smiling brightly at the sight before her. "Nee-chan!" she screeched, throwing herself at the older girl._

_Sakura smiled as her friend chuckled softly. "I'm here to babysit you while our fathers talk."_

"_Yay!" Sakura pulled away, taking the older girl's hand and leading her to the gardens. "Come on! We got some new koi fish! They really pwetty!"_

"_I'm sure they are." The Shiuta girl chuckled._

_Ten minutes later, a servant came out from the main house, bowing to the two girls. "Shiuta-sama, your father summons you." The servant spoke._

_Sakura pouted as her friends patted her head. "Don't worry, Saki, I won't take long."_

_Five minutes later, Sakura was still waiting by the pond. She huffed and crossed her arms. What was taking so long? Five minutes was a long time (to a five year old)._

_So Sakura hopped off the edge of the garden wall and wandered into the manor. Her bare feet were quiet in the hallway, and Sakura pretended she was a ninja on a mission to kidnap the pretty Shiuta princess! Giggling to herself, Sakura put on an overly -dramatic 'serious face' and crept down the hall towards her fathers office._

_Oh no! There was an evil giant asleep at the gate!_

_With a grin, Sakura began to creep up to the bodyguard. The man was resting in a chair by the door, eyes closed and breath even. His clan symbol on his jacket told her he was from the Shiuta clan._

_And in one movement, the Shiuta member snapped his head in her direction, sharp eyes locking on her like a predator on prey, his hands suddenly holding big knives. All in one second._

_Sakura gulped. He had been so fast! And his eyes were just staring… and staring…_

_She shifted on her feet. "Um… I wanna see 'Nee-chan. Is she still in there with the grown ups?"_

_The Shiuta member stayed quiet but gave her a sharp nod. And was confirmed when the sound of voices drifted from behind the door._

"…_Father! I will…" that was Nee-chan!_

"_As… your duty…" And Nee-chan's scary father…_

"_Shiuta-san, we… does not have to be now…" Sakura recognized her own father's voice._

"_But… and I'm only ten years old!... wait until…" Nee-chan's voice again._

_Sakura glanced at the Shiuta member, but he didn't look like he had heard a thing._

"_Um-" she was about to ask the man to let her in, but then the doors opened, causing Sakura to jump in surprise. "Papa!"_

_Her father smiled down at her and picked up his daughter. "There's my girl. What were you up to?"_

"_I wanna play with Nee-chan!" Sakura gave him the puppy-eyes._

_Of course, her father melted. He turned to the stern, tall Shiuta clan leader and smiled at his long-time business partner. "We can have a cup of tea while they play."_

_The scary man, with eyes like steel, and grim lines on his face, raised an intimidating eyebrow. But for some reason, Sakura's father was never scared of this man. Instead, her father laughed at the look on his face._

"_We have some white jasmine and desert rose tea, just imported from Grass." The Haruno clan leader wiggled his strawberry blonde eyebrows at his partner. "Your favorite."_

_Nee-chan's father nodded jerkily. "That is acceptable."_

_Sakura's father seemed to find this funny, and chuckled at the Shiuta. Then he put Sakura back onto the ground and led the visiting Shiuta to a porch overlooking the gardens while Sakura dragged her Nee-chan to the blooming flowers._

"_Saki, they are so pretty!" the older girl smiled wistfully as the fragrance of the gardenias hung heavily in the air._

_Sakura beamed. "I helped Mommy grow them!"_

_The older girl smiled down at Sakura, picking one of the pure white flowers and putting it behind Sakura's ear._

"_Pretty as a picture." She whispered._

_[~*~*~*]_

Don't look into his eyes!

Her thoughts screamed at her, and Vera barely stopped herself from looking into her attacker's eyes. The bark of the tree beside her exploded, and she jumped to the next tree, narrowly avoiding another attack.

"Katon-"

_Shit!_ Before the words were out of his mouth, she had already prepared a water jutsu. But his powers were so strong! Madara's fireball nearly engulfed her waves. Vera felt the blood drain from her face, Madara landing across from her with a smirk. How the hell was she supposed to escape this guy?

"Now now." He chuckled. "Don't be afraid. If you comply I might even spare you."

Vera felt sick as the Uchiha looked her up and down.

"That's one luscious body." Madara licked his lips. "If you are a good girl I might just make you scream."

EW. He was, like, over 90 years old and hitting on her like he had something going for him. So. Not. Cool.

"How about 'No.'" she growled, jumping away from a sudden windmill shuriken hurled from her right. Time to go!

Her mind raced as she ran away knowing that Madara could overpower her in a second. Wait… he was faster than her too. Why wasn't he- Vera gasped. Dammit! It was a clone!

Turning around mid-jump, Vera flung a kunai at the clone. The Madara chasing her deflected it, but she had already thrown several shuriken that knocked the kunai back at him. The blade of the kunai went through the clone's throat, dispersing the clone with a 'poof!'.

"Too late." A voice chuckled in her ear.

Vera flipped away from him as fast as she could, but felt a cut starting to bleed on her neck where he had almost succeeded in killing her. She hadn't even felt the blade touch her!

Madara and Vera landed across from each other. She was already having to breathe in more air than usual, her chest rising noticeably. A trickle of blood made a path towards her armor from a thin red line above the dip in her collarbone.

Vera knew that nothing but her most powerful attacks even stood a chance against Madara. So without further ado…

The Uchiha watched curiously as the kunoichi across from him lifted the bottom of her mask, and he could see her other hand reach underneath to pulled down the cloth mask that covered the bottom half of her face. She left the porcelain panther mask just above her lips. And what full and red lips they were. Madara's grin faltered as his Sharingan registered a strange concentration of chakra at her throat, the blue light beginning to swirl and grow stronger.

Suddenly his Sharingan was glued to her lips, yet were unable to read them. The world became quiet, and all he heard was her musical voice. Genjutsu! Madara grinned; did she honestly think that would fool him? Fool the Sharingan? Ha!

"Kai!" Madara muttered, shaking his head to clear away the fuzziness. Then he laughed. "Did you honestly think…"

Wait-

He looked around, sensing for any chakra.

"_What?_" Madara yelled. She was gone! Not a trace of her! "_Impossible!_"

He had broken the genjutsu! She shouldn't have been able to escape him! It hadn't worked! NO ONE ESCAPES UCHIHA MADARA!

Growling, Madara lashed at the nearest tree, utterly destroying it with a single punch. He would find her! The Black Cat, or whatever people called the infamous woman, would pay for her insolence!

"And then I will slowly dissect that kekkai gekkai of yours." He snarled.

_[~*~*~*]_

Vera panted heavily, the muscles in her legs screaming at her to stop but she dared not slow down. She ran and ran and ran, pumping potent amounts of chakra into her legs to fuel her speed, risking bodily harm. Yet the chakra pummeling through her channels were nothing compared to the thundering of her heart.

Fear was nothing foreign to Vera, although she rarely became afraid of anyone these days. But an encounter with one of shinobi history's most notorious villains (who should have died years ago!) left her feeling like a rabbit in a hole. Vera slammed her feet into the branches of the trees, breaking off some with her force, shooting herself off to the next one, careless of the sharp twigs that reached out to her, scratching and catching on her clothing and armor.

Where there was cloth, it was ripped. There were cuts on her armor from her scuffle with Madara, and she felt air blowing on her face from some crack in the porcelain she had not seen. Her ears were ringing with the sound of Madara's sinister cackle, giving the illusion that he was still behind her, watching and waiting. The scenery was nothing but a green blur as she hurdled past; shivers of fear wracked her body.

Oh god he had _touched_ her!

Vera let out a scream of desperation, smashing a steel-knuckled fist into a tree as she shot by, hearing a satisfying crash and shatter behind her, for she still dared not slow down.

God he had _touched_ her!

Pressed that cursed body _against_ her!

Vera screamed again, the sound muffled by both her masks, yet it seemed to blast and echo in her ears, the sound hysterical. The taste of iron filled her mouth as she bit her lip angrily; any pain to distract from the impending emotional turmoil that would throw her emotional walls into chaos. A shudder wracked her body, and Vera stopped on a branch for a moment as it passed, long strands of brown hair settling around her shoulders. She hadn't even noticed so much had slipped from the bun.

Don't stop now! Her thoughts screamed, and Vera's mind continued to imagine Madara in the shadows, red eyes peering through the trees, quiet breathing behind her, his hands as he gripped her arms, pulling her into his grasp- A strangle noise was wretched from her throat and Vera continued on.

She continued on, running with all her chakra- she had already been too drained to summon a panther after using her unexercised bloodline limit. So she ran.

"Itachi-kun…"

The name shocked her, though she did not slow down. Vera didn't know why she called his name in her time of need, nor why it would be his name in the first place. But that name was her goal, and she made a beeline for the mountain where he resided. Where she lived.

Itachi-_kun_…

She hadn't called him that in eight years.

_[~*~*~*]_

_Her teeth were clenched so hard they were grinding. Her jaw bones were sore, her entire head throbbed, but she couldn't relax. Her muscles were so tense that she thought they would snap._

"_Get it off, get it off, get it off, get it off, GET THEM OFF ME!" she chanted, screamed, raved, her eyes wild and swelling red. "Kami-sama get it off! Get it off, get it off, get if off!"_

_She sobbed, turning the shower up as hot as it would go, the steam rolling out of the bathroom in huge clouds. The hallway outside was in disarray, anything that had been in her way from the door to the bathroom had been knocked aside as she had stumbled weakly to her destination._

"_I can feel them still!" she screeched, another sob tore from her throat as boiling water turned her skin bright red, burning the top layer. Yet it did not seem to faze her as she grabbed the roughest scrubber and gritty body wash. Lathering her body in a thick layer of the gritty body wash, she rubbed her body raw until she bled in some places. Especially on her breasts and legs and torso. Even her lips had been scrubbed until the skin peeled away._

_Still she did not stop._

"_Get it off, get it off, get it off, get it off!" she screeched in fear and agony, the ache between her legs a constant reminder of her actions. She couldn't wash it away!_

"_Leave!" she yelled so high pitched that the intruder's ears flinched in pain._

_The panther stared at her with sadness in its deep golden eyes. "A-"_

"_GO!" She half screamed, half croaked, her throat becoming raw from her hysterical ranting._

_Reluctantly, the panther turned and went back to the living room, not knowing how to handle such a human situation._

"_OH KAMI I CAN STILL FEEL THEM!" she yelled angrily, slamming the sides of the shower, punching the tile until her knuckles bled, some no doubt fractured, maybe one or two broken. The white tile was stained red, yet it did not matter. Her entire world was currently stained red._

_The marks on her neck throbbed, and she began to cry as she remembered these as well, rubbing them until they too began to feel raw. She didn't know how long she stayed in that shower, but as time went on, she curled up on the tile floor, dead eyes watching tendrils of long dark hair swirl with the pink-tinged water. Hugging her body, she began to cry, not noticing that the water was gradually getting colder…_

"_For… my village…" she sobbed into her knees, hiccupping. "Oh… Oh God…" she moaned, pulling on her hair, tears melding with the spray of water._

_Mission accomplished._

* * *

><p><strong>In the next chapter or so I'll start concentrating a lot more on the psychological aspect of Vera's mission and the damage. I'm also going to try and concentrate more on Sakura, and start getting her side of the story going. Don't worry, I won't forget about Itachi, although I have no idea when Sasuke will finally appear. Madara is a bitch. <strong>

**Anyway, in other story news:**

**I am already working on the next chapter for The Haruno Clan.**

**I hope to soon start working on the next chapters of Icecube 2 Is Melting and It's In Her Eyes. (applaud)**

**REVIEW!**


	7. Buried Roots

**I DON'T OWN NARUTO**

**Omigosh I'm so sorry I took so long to update! I made this chapter extra-long, just for you- my special readers! Please forgive me for my unexpected haitus! All other news will be at the bottom so you can go ahead and start the chapter!**

**WARNING: Some SaiSaku at the end.**

_Chapter Seven: Buried Roots_

"You asked for me, Tsunade-sama?" Sakura asked as she handed Tsunade the files the Hokage had been asking for the previous week.

"Yes. Wait a moment, if you will, Sakura. We are waiting for one more person." Tsunade said without looking up from the document she was reading and signing, placing the stack of files from Sakura in a drawer on her left.

A few seconds later, there was a polite and deliberate knock on the door.

"Enter." Tsunade commanded.

Sakura looked up to see Sai enter through the door, closing it behind him and standing at attention next to where she was seated. With two fingers and her thumb, Tsunade rubbed the bridge of her nose, scrunching up her face and blinking a couple times as she finally tore her eyes from the paperwork in front of her. As she usually did before assigning a mission, Tsunade placed her pen back into its holder, leaning back into her chair and crossing her arms, regarding Sai and Sakura with close inspection. Sakura wondered why the rest of Team Kakashi was not present.

"Sakura, this will be an almost solo mission." The Hokage addressed her first.

The medic tilted her head. "What do you mean by an '_almost'_ solo mission?"

"Sai will be you backup, even though screwing up will most likely result in your immediate death, regardless." Tsunade gave Sakura a meaningful look.

Sakura glanced at Sai, who gave her his signature creepy smile in return. The medic turned back to her mentor, stating sarcastically, "Oh that makes me feel _soooo_ much better, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade chuckled good-naturedly.

"Seriously, Shisou, I wouldn't trust Sai to keep a cockroach alive- no offense Sai-chan." She quickly amended.

Sai gave her a confused look. "For your information, Sakura-chan, cockroaches are resilient creatures that have survived ice ages and meteorite collisions, and will survive quite some time without food, and can even survive if their heads were to be cut off." Sai paused, and then added, "They just regrow their heads."

'_**Oh dear Lord that's disgusting.' Inner Sakura cringed, shaking her head at Sai.**_

Sakura gave her Hokage a pointed look. "No further need to explain."

Tsunade couldn't help but agree as she stared at Sai with a slightly disgusted look on her face. That boy was truly hopeless. The Hokage shook her head and got back to business. "Yes…" -she threw another dubious look at the Root member- "But this mission requires his expertise."

"Oh?" Now Sakura was curious.

"This is an S-class mission, Haruno Sakura, given who you will be dealing with. I cannot be sure of what you may have to resort to. There is no guarantee if you will come back alive, and in the most likely scenario, if you were to die none of us would ever find your body, if we are lucky enough to be informed of your death." Tsunade told her seriously. "I cannot tell you any more than that until you accept this mission."

Sakura glanced at Sai, already having an idea of what the mission entailed. "I agree."

Giving a nod, the blonde woman pulled out a file from her desk and handed it to Sakura, who opened it to find the emotionless face of an ANBU Root woman staring at her. "Member #34, known as Yuna." Sakura read aloud, and looked up at Tsunade, cocking an eyebrow. "What is this?"

"The person you will be impersonating." Tsunade answered. "Sai, here, will help you learn to keep your emotions in check and act like a convincing member of the Root division."

"That's impossible." Sakura deadpanned. "I couldn't hide my emotions if my life depended on it."

"I have already discussed this with Sai." The Hokage assured her. "Besides, you are the only one with the information to complete this mission. I need you to gain access to Danzo's archive and look for anything regarding your friend Vera, and consequently her undercover mission, as well as anything pertaining to the Shiuta."

Well, Tsunade had a point. There was no one else with in the village with Vera's knowledge, and without that, they would not know what could potentially be important. Sakura stared at the Root woman in the picture had pasty, pale skin like Sai, medium-length dark purple hair, and charcoal black, narrowed eyes that held a predatory glint. She had a slightly hooked nose, thin lips that had probably never seen a smile, light colored eyebrows, and a small scar on her left shoulder from what looked to have been a jagged edge. Hello Yuna.

"What will happen to the operative?" Sakura asked.

"We kill her, of course." Sai answered plainly, with a shrug.

The pinkette fixed Sai with a scolding glare.

Tsunade sighed. "That might be our only option."

"What?!" Sakura exclaimed, her eyes snapping towards the Hokage. "How can you say that?"

Tsunade shook her head. "I don't know what we will do with her, but if this mission goes wrong, I can't afford to leave such a loose end. But if all goes right, Danzo will be in a prison cell before he realizes we have made a switch."

Sakura sat in shocked silence.

"Yuna is one of the operatives in my team when I'm on a mission for Danzo." Sai told her. "That way I'll be able to look after you."

Her hand hovered over the picture of the Root woman, Sakura's eyes reading over her physical and what little personal information there was, absorbing who this woman was. Sakura hesitated, just a second, before looking up at the Hokage and answering, "I'll do it."

_[~*~*~*]_

She couldn't risk Madara following her. Vera had no idea if he was in those shadows, watching and waiting. She couldn't let him find out Itachi was alive, especially when Itachi was still too weak to face him.

It was about time she reported back to the Kagete anyway.

Vera turned south, and headed towards Tea Country, a small country known for its exotic tea and exporting economy, as well as being prime bandit country. The economy of Tea country was so tied up with the black market there, due to the many powerful nuke-nin operations there that the country was hopelessly at the mercy of the rogues.

From the location of her short battle against Madara, Vera was about five hours away from the border of Tea, by her calculations. She had ceased pumping chakra into her legs, unable to sustain such a breakneck sprint any longer. Pausing near a cold stream, Vera suck her calves and lower thighs in the cool liquid, soothing her legs in the cold, the chakra having shredded her muscles when she fled Madara. A thin layer of green chakra began to heal her legs, and after a long moment of healing, Vera was off again, jumping carefully from tree to tree, trying to refrain from jarring her legs too much.

By dusk Vera had crossed into Tea Country, avoiding border patrols so easily it was laughable. She continued to head towards the capital, Debana, where the base of the organization she was spying on was located. By nightfall she had neared the city gates, and pulling her cloak's hood up to cast a shadow on her mask, Vera approached the gates.

"Halt!" the city guards ordered. "The gates are closed from 12:00 PM to 5:00 AM."

Her eyebrow twitched in irritation. Had it really been so long that the city guards did not recognize how dangerous a cloaked stranger all in black meant? Idiots. They spoke as if she were some civilian looking for the marketplace. Vera resisted the urge to sneer, and stood still in front of the gate, not moving.

"Did you hear me?" the guard raised his voice. Yeesh, she wasn't deaf.

There was a thump against metal as the guard's partner, as the no doubt the more experienced guard (or maybe he was just more buff) smacked the back of loud one's head.

"What was that for-"

"Shut up, Gin Lee." The deeper voice of the larger guardsman commanded. "Can't you see this one means business?"

The louder young man turned to regard Vera more carefully, who had stood silent and still during the whole exchange.

"I am here to meet with Kagete." Vera spoke lowly, her quiet voice somehow sounding more dangerous.

There were audible gulps from both guards. The younger guard opened his mouth to protest, but the older man quickly cut in before his partner said something no doubt utterly stupid.

"Would you like a courier to deliver a message?" he asked nervously, looking around as if there were someone listening.

"Yes." She replied softly, with a low voice. "Tell Takama-san that Vera is here."

The older guard gave her a confused look before sending her partner into the watch tower to deliver the message to the courier. Then a side door in the city's walls opened from the inside, and Vera was beckoned to follow the guard into the city.

"We don't want any trouble here." The guard murmured carefully. "Just don't advertise that we let you in. I don't want it to be public knowledge that the city's guardsmen are under the control of Kagete."

Vera couldn't help but snort, saying in a smug voice. "Everyone knows this entire capital is under Kagete's thumb. Don't pretend that you don't know who the real power in this city is; your Daimyo is nothing but a fat lard."

The guard dared not retort, but settled for glaring at the dark figure of Vera, before her black-clad body was absorbed into the shadows.

_[~*~*~*]_

In the city's streets ran an alarmed courier, a young man, running to the under-city, a portion of Debana that was located below ground-level, nestled into the natural bowl-shape of the land. The stone walls were cast in a blue hue, the lights flickering lightly across them from weak torches that barely lite the walkways. A rusted iron gate was hidden in the shadows of the under-city, leading down into the sewers.

His hands fumbled with the latch, making sure to re-latch the gate behind him. Through the stone hole he jogged, until he reach the dead end, where a glowing, burnt out torch barely lit the otherwise pitch black alley. There was what looked to be a boarded up well at the end of this stone hall, but the courier quickly pushed the pieces of wood away and climbed down. He was engulfed in darkness, only his hands and feet leading him down, down, down into the sewers. As his feet touched the floor, a light shone to his left, and the courier turned to run through the dimly lit, twisted halls of the underground.

He did not hesitate when he reached a dead end, pushing a seemingly random stone in the wall. The wall at the end of the corridor slid back and to the side, revealing an aged wooden door. The courier ran up to the wall and knocked three times, waited, then knocked five times, waited, then knocked three times again.

And iron hole in the door slid open, and a crinkled eye glared out at the panting young man.

"Password?" a gruff voice rasped form behind the door.

"Sickle weed." The young man said almost immediately.

The iron hole closed again, and the courier could hear the sound of many locks and bolts chining and clanging on the other side. When the door swung open, revealing the crabby, aged but no less intimidating door keeper of the Kagete. The courier practically hurtled into the hideout, with the door keeper yelling after him,

But the young man had no time to allow the door keeper to lead him to the Kagete leader. There was no time! She would be here soon! Already knowing his way around the base, the courier sprinted deeper into the caverns, dimly lit halls gradually becoming civilized corridors, almost homey if it weren't for the scary warriors and thieves roaming the hallways. He knocked into several of them in his haste, and nearly had his ear chopped off in their anger, but there was someone the courier feared more, and that was the leader of Kagete himself, who would be livid if news of that woman reached him too late.

The courier burst into the dining hall, past the fireplace, and into another maze of hallways. Soon enough he found himself slamming open the door to the meeting room, where the leader of the Kagete organization, Takama, looked up with barely surprised amusement at the young man he had taken in off the streets.

"What is it, Haru?" Takama asked, taking in the wide eyes of the courier.

Haru took in a deep breath. "A message from the gates: 'Vera is here'."

Takama's face changed dramatically. His eyes darkened, a pleased smile curving ominously on his face, his back straightened from where he had been leaning over the table. Takama turned to his commanders, dismissing them.

"Go to the entrance, Haru." Takama ordered. "When Vera arrives, escort her here."

Haru nodded immediately and exited the room, finally able to breathe again.

Takama leaned back and sat in his chair, steepling his fingers and staring at the door, a smirk still plastered on his face.

"It's about time she came back." He murmured with a dark chuckle.

_[~*~*~*]_

"Remember: Don't speak unless spoken to. When you speak, use as little words possible, but answer as thoroughly as possible. Never forget to use Yuna's pitch, not your own."

Sakura nodded as she followed Sai towards the Root building, located on the far east side of the village, although most of the base took up room underground.

"Try to keep your mask on as often as possible. Only follow orders either from Danzo himself or me, your captain." Sai continued. "If anyone else bothers you, ignore them; try to be a little stand-offish, Yuna tends to be more cold than impassive."

The mention of Yuna made the disguised Sakura squirm slightly. Sai had delivered his fellow Root member into a trap set up by himself and Sakura. In a training field farthest from the village in the middle of the night, the battle had been quick and soundless, with Yuna only putting up a minor struggle before Sakura's speed made her appear behind the Root member. Quick jabs to several pressure points knocked out the woman, and as Sakura laid Yuna out on the ground, she quickly but very carefully sent her chakra into Yuna's brain to trigger a coma.

Sai had carried Yuna as they took the unconscious Root operative back to the Konoha prison, where Ibiki would keep her stabilized in a solitary confinement room that could only be accessed by himself, Tsunade, or Shizune. While Sakura was under cover as Yuna, Tsunade or Shizune would check up on Yuna to make sure that the woman stayed in her coma. And while Sakura was undercover, she would have a clone taking her place, with a working chakra network and everything.

Now Sakura stood next to Sai in front of the Root division doors, looking up at the seemingly innocent one story building. Her head had a slight itch where a dark purple wig, trimmed to match the cut Yuna wore her hair, was molded to her head, looking just as natural as Yuna herself. Sakura vaguely wondered where Tsunade had acquired such a wig. It felt odd to have long hair again, especially when she wasn't under a henge. But there were no doubt henge-dispelling jutsus scattered throughout the Root base, and even without those, Danzo would not be fooled by a mere henge.

Blinking a couple times, Sakura rolled her eyes so that the dark blackish-brown contacts in her eyes could mold to her eyeballs. Using a medical jutsu, Tsunade and Sakura had managed to make Sakura's skin cells produce less melanin, and about two days before this mission began, her entire body had become an entire shade lighter. As of last night, Sakura was now just as pasty as Sai. In a more painful medical jutsu, Sakura had broken the fibula, tibia, and femur bones in both legs (under Tsunade's supervision of course), and generated more marrow so that when she re-healed her bones, Sakura had become three inches taller, now 5 feet and 6 inches or 167 centimeters, the same height as Yuna.

In another painful medical jutsu, Sakura used a crossover medical and spy jutsu, used often by the department of espionage. This jutsu completely altered her face's physical features. Now Sakura's plump lips had shrunk to be thinner, her eyes narrowed in their shaped to make her seem like she was always glaring, and her nose grew out and hooked slightly. It was a scary thing to watch in the mirror as she supervised her work to make sure she matched Yuna's description to the letter. She had even changed the shapes of her ears.

Earlier that week Sakura had even taken a jagged shard of glass, thick as a kunai, and calculating the location of the scar on Yuna in the picture, cut into her arm and re-healed it in a manner that would make the scarring seem old. Now she had a matching scar on her shoulder in the exact spot as Yuna.

"Good luck, Ugly." Sai whispered. Sakura reached for his hand and gave it a tight squeeze, before letting go and following him into the building.

Entering the lobby, a blank-faced man looked up. Without approaching the desk, Sai took off his mask and gave the ANBU Root guard a nod. Sakura followed his example, keeping her face in a mixed expression of impassivity and sternness (which she had practiced in the mirror until she had mastered it). The guard didn't look any longer at 'Yuna' than necessary, and Sakura inwardly sighed in relief. First obstacle has been overcome!

'_**Cha! You can do this!' Inner Sakura cheered.**_

Sai led 'Yuna' down into the depths of the Root division building, following a staircase down into the lair of Konoha's own personal demon. In Sakura's mind, at least. If Sakura expected dimly lit hallways, reminiscent of Orochimaru's bases, she was wrong. In fact, the underground corridors of the Root base were lit with almost blinding clarity, the fluorescent lights leaving no room for shadows.

'_**Shikamaru would definitely not like this place.' Inner Sakura commented.**_

'_Why are you here?' _ Sakura thought with a grumble.

'_**To guard your sanity, dear.' She replied in a posh tone.**_

'_Great, now even my alternate personality is worried about my sanity.'_ Sakura mentally glared at Inner Sakura as her Inner self gave her a self-satisfied smirk. Yup, she was going to the loony bin sometime soon in the future.

Sai continued to lead her silently through the twisting maze of the underground base. He led her to the barracks, a long, plain room filled with rows of bunk beds on each side. Every bed was folded with neat military precision that would put any shinobi to shame. At the end of the room was a rather large laundry chute.

Sakura was immediately grateful Sai had insisted on teaching her how to make her bed, much to her exasperation. He had literally made her fold his bed, refold his bed, and refold he bed again. And again. And again. Until she had attacked him with a pillow in an effort to suffocate him (which only resulted in an extremely fierce pillow fight with her teammate). She had thought Sai had finally lost it, but now she realized he had every reason to have taught her. It was highly unlikely Sakura could have imitated the crisp box corners of the sheets.

Sakura followed Sai to his bed, and then he wordlessly pointed to the bed above his. She nodded silently, thankful that she would be able to keep close to Sai. He would be her lifeline in this mission.

"Danzo doesn't keep track of every operative 24/7." Sai whispered to her as they left the sleeping quarters. "That's why he doesn't know about you yet. We merely report to him when he needs us on a mission. But he nearly always has a mission for us. He expects us to train in our free time."

Sakura nodded silently as Sai went quiet again and led her into the dining hall. It was a plain affair, with tables scattered around in no particular order, and only one or two operatives eating in the late morning. She guessed most of the other Root members were out on missions or training.

Without preamble Sai walked through the room, 'Yuna' following behind him at a sedate pace. Exiting the dining hall, Sai walked down another hall, seeming to take her deeper into the base. He halted at an intersection of hallways, gesturing to the left, where a staircase led downwards.

"That leads to our dungeons. You don't want to go there." He said passively.

Sakura gulped, for a moment imagining herself being discovered and dragged kicking and screaming by faceless Root members down into the dark cells. She shook her head and caught up with Sai.

"Where are we headed now?" she whispered.

"We must report to Danzo for a mission." Sai spoke nonchalantly as they approached what she guessed was Danzo's office.

The final test. 'Yuna' took a deep breath and followed Sai into the room, imitating Sai's bow before Danzo. There were already two other members of what she guessed were Sai's Root team, standing silently off to the right. One was a tall, willowy male with cropped brown hair, wearing the traditional blank-white Root mask. The other male had a dark blue ponytail ending at his shoulder blade, not as tall as Sai or the other Root teammate, but just as lean. Returning her attention to Danzo, 'Yuna' stood straight-backed at attention, as Sai had instructed her to do, taking a moment to study Danzo from behind her mask.

His right arm was in its usual sling behind his yukata, dressed in faded crème and gray. His right eye was bandaged, his left eye flickering over his operatives with cold indifference. Danzo was seated on a cushion in a rigid lotus position, his cane placed on the floor to his left. His very aura radiated darkness, and inwardly Sakura wanted to shiver. How could anyone think this man was anything other than the bad guy?

"Sai, what is your report on Tsunade-hime?" Danzo ordered. The way he referred to Tsunade, in his superior and condescending voice, made her angry, which she promptly tamped down. But Sakura couldn't help but imagine Tsunade beating Danzo into the ground, rubbing his face in the dirt. Oh yes, this made her much happier.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, Danzo-sama." Sai said tonelessly, his eyes fixed almost absent mindedly on Danzo. Sakura had forgotten how far Sai had come since he first joined Team Kakashi. Seeing Sai like this again, after so long, made her uneasy. "The Hokage is currently discussing diplomatic relations with Cloud, her favoring of the self-proclaimed 'Konoha 11' has not changed, and her eagerness to imbibe in judgment impairing alcoholic beverages has remained the same."

Danzo let out a snort. "Anything of use, boy."

Sai seemed to think for a moment. "A woman by the name of Vera visited last week."

Danzo's face remained unreadable. Sakura forced her heart to keep steady, breathing quietly. Vera's presence was supposed to have been a secret! But what if Danzo knew something about her? Maybe that's what Sai was doing.

Sai continued. "Vera was only her codename, though. She apparently is an outside contact of some kind. I could not get any more information on her. Well, I do know that her Summons are panthers."

At this Danzo's eyes sharpened. Sakura felt her adrenaline kick up. Could he know something?

"Panthers, you say?" Danzo murmured.

"Is that important somehow, Danzo-sama?" Sai questioned in that pseudo-curiosity that was his trademark.

Danzo smirked. "No. it is just that the panther Summons have not taken a master in generations. This 'Vera' person must be quite strong. If she returns, I want to be informed immediately."

"Of course, Danzo-sama." Sai answered immediately, bowing.

"Now back to your mission." Danzo informed. "I need you to gather intel on a man named Ariko Zaku. He is an old friend of Tsunade-hime that she has contacted recently. She has no reason to be contacting an old gambler unless she is looking for something or someone. I want you to find out what Tsunade is looking for, and if possible, obtain the information for me. It's a relatively simple mission, so I don't expect any slip ups." At these last words Danzo fixed them all with a stern glare.

"Hai, Danzo-sama. We shall leave immediately." Sai bowed and pulled his mask on, leading the team out of the room and back to the dining hall.

"Eat and we will leave when everyone is packed." Sai ordered, although it seemed unnecessary as the other two operatives were already walking towards where the food was being served. Sakura followed Sai there, grabbing a plate of plain vegetables and meat. Nothing fancy, but no doubt packed with proteins.

"Sit by yourself." Sai whispered to her as she grabbed her plate.

Nodding once, Sakura found an empty table to sit and eat. She finished her meal swiftly, placing the dirty dishes in the pile by the kitchen. She walked alone back to the barracks, where she found a pack lying on her bunk. Grabbing it, Sakura glanced into it, assuring that it was empty and there were no surprises, she packed an extra pair of clothes from the dresser at the end of her and Sai's bunk, a couple bandages, and pouches of kunai, shuriken, and senbon. She then began putting on Yuna's armor, the standard ANBU katana was strapped to her back, and for a moment, Sakura wondered what it would really be like to join Konoha's elite force.

She looked up at the sound of a door opening and closing, and saw Sai walking in quickly. He glanced her over, and then into her pack.

"Yuna prefers to use senbon to kill swiftly and silently." He whispered, adding more senbon to the mix, and taking away most of her shuriken. "She finds shuriken unnecessary when she is precise with her senbon."

"Does she use poison?" Sakura asked.

Nodding, Sai pulled a vial of blue liquid from the dresser he shared with Yuna, handing it to Sakura. She sniffed it carefully, nodding impressed when she recognized the potent mix of botulinum toxin, which interferes with nerve impulses and causes paralysis of muscles. Plus the poison could be easily blamed on undercooked food, so foul-play could be easily overlooked. It was also one of the harder poisons for medics to counteract.

"Good choice." Sakura murmured.

Sakura refolded her spare pair of clothes, teaching her how Yuna preferred to fold her shirts and pants. From the dresser Sai produced an arm brace that he showed Sakura how to latch onto her right forearm. He placed the vial of blue poison inside a niche at the bottom of the brace under her arm, near the elbow. Then he showed Sakura how to load the brace with senbon. The brace could be easily rotated to shoot senbon at high velocity, and the poison was sparingly applied to the senbon through the mechanism.

It was impressive. Sakura found herself wondering if she shouldn't take the brace with her when she finished this mission.

"Remember, in Root we place the mission before our teammates. Don't try to save anyone. And _never_ use any medical jutsu. It's too risky." Sai murmured as retrieved more equipment from Yuna's bunk.

Next Sai strapped a boot knife to each of her legs, and then showed her where Yuna liked to store a shorter senbon between her breasts (if it were anyone other than Sai, this would have been an extremely awkward moment). He showed Sakura how to twist her hair up into a stylishly messy bun, in which she could store exactly seven senbon in her hair.

For the first time since entering the base, Sakura felt the tension between her shoulders ease as Sai tugged her hair gently into place. All this he showed her wordlessly, for it was too dangerous for them to speak too much. For a moment, Sakura closed her eyes and let out a sigh. She had to trust Sai.

His hands left her hair, and Sakura turned to smile at Sai from behind her mask. He saw her eyes twinkle behind her eye slits, and Sai's eyes softened a fraction before he turned to finish his own packing. 'Yuna' sat patiently on Sai's bottom bunk as their other two teammates entered the room and quickly packed.

Soon all four Root operatives were exiting the base, masks in place. Sakura refused herself the luxury of glancing at Konoha through the mask of ANBU Root, and locked away her emotions deeper than she had ever done before.

_[~*~*~*]_

Vera wanted to chuckle at the ignorant Kagete members milling around the dining hall beneath her. There was a murmur below her from the wooden tables, reverberating off stone walls, an occasional crackle from the large fire place, and someone in the corner of the room had decided to start playing their flute while several companions sang quite drunkenly along.

It was silly how many secret exits none of these people know about their own base. Vera had already seen the commanders leave the meeting room, and Takama's little street rat, Haru, running towards the base entrance, no doubt waiting for her arrival. Poor boy, didn't these people know by now that she never took the conventional entrance?

Gazing at all this, Vera's mind momentarily flashed back to her first time walking through these halls, adjusting to her life as a nuke-nin, establishing her authority in the cut-throat underground. Her chakra kept her boots sealed to the ceiling, her cloak hung upside down near her head, although her hood kept her side-bangs from falling into disarray, even upside down. Vera uncrossed her arms and stretched, popping her back. The blood was starting to pound in her head, and so without further ado, Vera ceased the chakra to her feet.

There is always a moment of hesitation, as if gravity were making up its mind, before plunging her to the floor. Effortlessly flipping right side up, Vera landed in the middle of the dining hall, the wooden table beneath her groaning in protest at the sudden weight. She stood straight and arrogantly, her hands on her hips, feet shoulder-width apart. Her cloak fluttered around her as the air stilled, the hood of her cloak falling back to reveal her black panther mask.

Vera grinned behind her mask as the hall fell into silent shock, the people who had been sitting at the table she landed on fell backwards. The newer members of Kagete could be heard speaking first: "Who is that?" "Do you guys know her?" "Are we under attack?"

And then came the older members of the organization: "That's the best assassin in the world right there. Ever heard of the Pantheress? The Black Cat?" "That's Vera, idiot! Don't tell me you've never heard of her?" _Heh. I like that one._

Vera ignored their stares, stepping down regally onto an empty chair next to the table, using it as a step to the floor. Without glancing at anyone one of the shocked Kagete members, Vera strode towards the door where the meeting room was. When she reached the meeting room, the door swung open, and Takama gave Vera a pointed look.

"You are so dramatic." Takama said to her.

Vera shrugged with a snicker. "What can I say? It's fun messing with their heads. Gotta keep your men on their toes."

Takama gave her a dry look as he closed the door behind her. Vera walked further into the meeting room from the right hand side of the room, down the short steps to the middle and sat in one of the chairs opposite from where she had entered, so that she could study Takama as he followed her to the table.

Takama was dressed in a sleeveless navy top, black shinobi pants, and black combat boots, with several weapons visible on his person. He had a strong jaw line, high cheekbones, his nose slightly disfigured from its original straight line due to several broken noses over his career, with thin lips that were nearly always sneering or smirking, Takama was very handsome. His shoulder length black hair hung was always tousled, his bangs covering his left eye, where there were two scars on his left temple and a lighter one across his left eye. His skin was a slightly tanned peachy color, his bare arms covered in nicks and cuts and scars. Takama stood tall at a little over six feet tall, lean and muscular like many shinobi, his almond shaped brown eyes glinting almost predatorily as he moved lithely and silently.

Since before her time in the Konoha ANBU, Takama had been a well-known nuke-nin from Iwa. In her head, Takama's personal file seemed to flash before her eyes. Watabi Takama, from an early age, had made a name for himself as a rogue ninja. Defecting from Iwagakure at the age of 11, he was a power-hungry demagogue, instigating several rebellions in the Land of Earth. He continued with his rabble-rousing actions in several other smaller countries, the civil wars furthering his arms dealing business by dealing secretly with both sides of the conflicts.

Takama's power grew, founding Kagete (Shadow Hand) at age 15; he furthered Kagete into other money-making schemes, mainly prostitution and slavery. Takama quickly got bored of the prostitution business, merely handing the business to one of his commanders to take care of (in this way, he could not be pressed charges if the prostitution ring were caught). However, Takama reveled in the power of the slave game. The income of illegal slavery had only grown in the past decade, and Takama was at the top of the game.

The slave trade was how Vera had managed to wriggle her way into this organization. Her official mission from Konoha had been to infiltrate and investigate Takama's arms dealing organization. Takama had been careful to keep Kagete on the down-low, avoiding drawing attention from the Hidden Villages. At the time of her assignment, the Konoha Council was suspicious of Kagete supplying weapons to the Uchihas. The Council already knew that Kagete was supplying weapons and information to Sunagakure, an enemy of Konoha as well at the time. When Vera discovered Kagete's involvement in prostitution and slavery, the Council needed no encouragement to declare Kagete an enemy of the state.

When the Sandaime assigned Vera her secret undercover mission, the Council had been told that it was to infiltrate the Kagete organization. And it was the truth, partially. Vera smuggled herself into the hideout as a slave, making a first impression to Takama by killing her handlers in cold blood with both hands tied behind her back. Takama took Vera out of the slave line, cleaned her up, and turned her into one of his followers.

As Vera, her background story had been that she was an independent young assassin, who had been captured by slavers during one of her hits. Takama was quickly impressed by her skills, and over the years Vera had become Takama's favorite assassin. As far as Takama knew, Vera's frequent absences from the organization were for either independent contracts or to deal with loose ends and old enemies. He gave her a surprising amount of freedom, but she supposed that was the upside to being favored.

Presently, Takama spun one of the chairs around and sat in it backwards, resting his arms on the top of the chair and leaning against its back.

"Vera." He said lowly. "It's been a while."

She leaned back into her chair and crossed her legs, draping her forearms on the arms of the chair as if it were a throne. Takama's eyes followed her every move. "Indeed. I have been… busy."

"You were gone for six months." Takama snapped.

Vera looked behind Takama at the door that led to the dining hall. "And it is amazing how many men you go through in those months. I saw many newbies."

Takama stood up and approached Vera, walking with silent, angry strides. She forced herself not to react when he slid between Vera and the table trapping her between his legs as he grabbed the chin of Vera's mask and leaned in to glare into her eyes. His other arm braced himself against the chair, just over Vera's right shoulder.

"You know that is not what I am looking for, Vera."

Vera stared stubbornly back at Takama as she revisited the past months-

"_I'm going into Ame." Jaraiya said, staring into his sake glass._

_Her head turned to him sharply from where she had been staring out the window of the establishment, regarding him with calculating eyes. "Jaraiya-sama, it is too early for such a step."_

"_We have waited too many years as it is." Jaraiya muttered. "My spy within the Akatsuki has his hands tied."_

_She frowned and looked down at her own sake cup, untouched during the whole meeting. Beside the glass sitting innocently on the table, the panther mask leered up at her. Her fingers traced the curve of the mask before she looked back up at the only man in the world who knew anything about her._

"_If you go, I won't help you." She murmured coldly._

_Jaraiya chuckled. "I wouldn't expect it, O great and mighty Vera."_

"_Don't call me that." She snapped._

_There was an awkward silence. Jaraiya shifted in his chair, lifting the sake glass to his lips. Placing it down, he refilled the cup and took another sip. She watched him out of the corner of her eye, her hand cupping her chin as she pretended to stare out the window into the dim town they were meeting in. One of her fingers reached up and traced the edge of her cloth mask that hid the lower half of her face. Jaraiya had often teased her that her cloth mask was Kakashi's influence on her._

"_I already said goodbye to Tsunade-chan." Jaraiya whispered, looking into his sake cup._

_She regarded him with a stoic expression._

"_You're going to leave me alone."_

_The Sannin looked up at her with sad eyes. "I'm sorry. I know how much you want to go back." He was the last surviving person who knew who she was, why she was here; a constant in her life away from Konoha, one person who understood her pain._

_As much as she had always attempted to stomp out that annoying little hope in the back of her mind, it always flared to life. The hope that she could return to Konoha and everything would be the same… but it would never be the same. She felt a little bit of that hope die within her, and a part of her was bitterly pleased._

"_It does not matter." She lied, standing up and leaving some money on the table to pay for the sake. She reached down to pick up the panther mask, only for her hand to be stopped as Jaraiya placed his large, callused hand on top of hers._

_He smiled up at her, a smile that made him look old and weary. "Does that bring you down? Are you going to miss this old man?"_

_She shook his hand off, picking up her porcelain mask and attaching it to her face with jerky movements. With one last look, she turned to leave the bar._

"_You are a fool, Jaraiya."_

_Behind her, Jaraiya chuckled softly at her._

_It was dusk outside, the leaves falling in brown colors, the wind slightly chilling, the scent of autumn in the air. She walked away quickly, crunching the leaves and grass with her boots, her shoulders tense and movement jerky. The cloth mask under on her face grew wet with every step._

-and she finally replied, "I was saying goodbye to a good friend of mine."

Takama leaned back, regarding her skeptically. He took in her tense shoulders, the way her fingers gripped the arms of the chair, her flashing eyes. Vera needed to release tension.

"You need a mission."

It was not a question. Vera nodded affirmative, relaxing her grip on the chair. Takama slowly raised his left arm, which had been resting on her shoulder, and traced her mask. Without a word, he removed her panther mask. Vera kept still as his fingers ghosted over the cloth mask hiding the bottom of her face.

"I suppose you still won't let me see what is under that mask?" he whispered with a smirk, leaning in closer.

"No." she answered frostily, her eyes clashing with his in a stubborn battle of wills. He was close enough that his nose barely touched hers, his body heat radiating towards her.

Takama drew back, chuckling. "Cold as ever, Vera. That's good. I have no need for a blunt weapon."

He stood and walked over to his desk, drawing out a picture form a folder. Handing it to Vera, he began explaining while she studied the older man in the picture.

"Kokure Setomi. He's a shinobi of Suna. And he's begun sniffing around for information on Kagete. He's had too many close calls to exposing me, and I want him dead." Takama smirked evilly. "And make sure he is made an example of."

Vera nodded and stood up, placing her mask back on. "Where can I find him?"

"He is currently a couple towns north, in a port village called Nebu. He is to accompany a caravan back to Wind Country." Takama answered.

Vera placed the picture back onto the table and bowed to Takama. "It will be done."

_[~*~*~*]_

She was too emotional for a mission right now. Vera knew this. But she pushed on, not caring. Jaraiya was gone and she was alone… Now there was truly no one in the world who knew her, what she had lived, someone to remind her of Konoha.

She was alone.

Six months she had spent furiously looking into the identity of the Akatsuki leader, putting more effort into the mission than ever before. Maybe she did it for Jaraiya; as if completing this mission that he had tasked her with would somehow bring him back. It was all worthless in the end.

Her old life was gone, no matter how many pieces she tried to hold onto. Jaraiya's death only added to her increasing isolation. The past months she had wondered for a bit, wondering what to do with herself. Her handler on the Kagete mission, Jaraiya, was gone. The Sandaime was dead as well. Who did she report to now? Would the Council remember her? But no, she couldn't risk becoming a pawn for Danzo. But Vera did not know whether to trust the current Hokage or not.

The town of Nebu was a medium-sized trading town on the west end of Tea Country, facing Wind Country. Setomi and his team were staying at an inn near the outskirts of the town. They had been surprisingly easy to track.

Vera felt a cold indifference settle over her, a thankful respite from the roiling emotions from her contact with Madara.

The handle twisted under her hand, easily, quietly. Her blades whistled from their holders, their jagged edges catching the light of one, lone candle that desperately attempted to light up the main room of the inn. The manager's room was closed on the first floor.

Vera climbed the stairs stealthily to the second floor. She searched every room until she came to the room the target was sleeping in. He would be the first to die.

Her blades sliced easily, cutting skin like silk. She covered his mouth, tied his hands and feet. With practiced precision, Vera made careful cuts into his neck, severing vocal cords but not the aorta. Blood was pouring everywhere, but in the silence the only noise was the target's labored breathing and the squelches of her blade in flesh.

Slice between the ribs, not too deep. Cut the ligaments of his arms and legs. Tendons and arteries. Not enough to kill him quickly. Blood spurted onto her mask, dripping down onto her collar bone.

It was so easy when it was silent. When the victim- the target- could not voice their pain. Everything took on a surreal quality, an out of body experience. She didn't like their screams. She always disabled the vocal cords. In the quiet, in her silence, things were easier. As if it made it easier to deal with.

Their screams would haunt her.

In the silence, she could breathe.

In the darkness, she could ignore the devastation her hands and blades dealt as she cut off and ear, a finger, gauged an eyeball.

In the darkness, her victim could not focus their accusing eyes on her face, mask or no mask. It was in these moments that she was most vulnerable, where her masks were shattered and she was left naked. A lonely girl with no home, family, or friends, forced to give up her heart and soul.

But the darkness could hide her.

The target bucked again, and she stabbed her sword into his hip, hearing the loud crack of his hip bone give way to her blade.

_Crack._

_Crack._

_Crack…_

It echoed in her ear as the silence was disturbed. The body beneath her flailed, and the target's arm knocked the side table, and a lamp came crashing to the floor.

Vera hissed in anger as the entire household woke up. It took only seconds for the rest of the shinobi team to run into the room and attack her.

Somehow the floor had fallen through and she was in the main room of the inn. The few other residents were screaming and attempting to unlock the inn door.

They could not escape.

Vera dodged a kunai as her fingers ran through the hand signs. The walls glowed with a thin layer of green veins, and when the civilians attempted to open the door, their hands were burned. The woman who had touched the handle pulled back with a screech.

One of the shinobi is was a wind user, and channeling razor sharp air around his sickle sword. Vera deftly dodged, knowing her swords were powerless against this man's wind. She focused on his comrades, quickly defeating a taijutsu-based kunoichi with quick jabs to her shins, an uppercut to her chin, flash-stepping behind the female shinobi to snap her neck.

The nearest team member, a bulky man with tanned skin and slitted eyes, roared and charged at her. Vera winced at the noise, and ran head-on at the hulk, sliding on the floor at the last minute and attaching an explosive tag on his leg.

"Katsu!"

The explosion rocked the building, but the only injuries the man sustained from the blast were bloody lacerations on his legs, and a chunk of flesh missing on his calf. Other than that, he remained standing. The sickle sword shinobi and the large shinobi regrouped across the room from her.

Vera held up a hand and curled a finger, taunting them to come at her again.

The rash, bulky man rushed at her, only to scream in agony as he found himself being cut up but a web of ninja wire separating the room into two. Before he sustained too much damage his partner cut away the strings, but Vera had already set the wires on fire with a Katon jutsu, the oil-coated wires alighting quickly and the flames licking their way towards her enemies.

Both ninjas had second-degree burns before the two ninjas cast a combination air-and-water jutsu to put out the fire. The bulky one ran at Vera again, his partner shouting at him to get a grip on himself. Vera smiled under her mask, and reached up to remove the cloth mask, freeing her lips as she began to whisper. Her voice grew louder, lowering in pitch, echoing unnaturally in the building so that it seemed to reverberate throughout the room in a haunting manner.

"_**Seven devils all around you… Seven devils in your house…**_

_**See they were there when you woke up this morning, and you're a puppet because the day is done**_

_**Seven devils in you heartbeat… Seven devils you are mine**_

_**Listen to the voice in that head my dear, for you're a puppet hanging from twine…"**_

The hulking shinobi slowed down as he neared her, and as Vera raised her hand to point at his partner. With sudden speed the man attacked his partner.

"Tsuko! What the hell are you doing?!" the man with the sickle sword yelled as his partner attempted to rearrange his face.

Vera smirked, pushing up her mask just enough so that her lips were revealed, a haunting rhythm and lovely words dripping like poison from her mouth. Her puppet's eyes were ringed with a pale purple glow.

How she loved this part.

Comrade against comrade.

But she had a mission to complete, and her voice turned raspier, words slithering and hissing as the shinobi in her control- Tsuko- stumbled, groaned, then died, blood bleeding from his ears. Relatively painless. He should be grateful.

There was an angry bellow from the remaining shinobi. He threw a swarm of shuriken at her, which she effortlessly dodged and deflected. Vera's hand grasped the throwing knives sheathed at her lower back and throw them in a wave, nicking her opponent in the arm and leg.

He retaliated by using an earth jutsu against her, sharp pieces of rock exploding from the floor of the in, attacking her. Vera jumped lightly from rock to rock, and countered with a poison gas jutsu, which the Suna shinobi rendered pointless with a wind jutsu.

"Kūki no sen katto jutsu!" he yelled.

A rush of air blasted through the room, and Vera was unable to dodge it as she was swept up in the jutsu, the sharp edges of wind glinting silver as they lacerated and sliced into her skin until her black armor and clothing were dripping with her blood. She threw her head back and screamed in agony.

Vera dropped to the floor when it was finally over. Her opponent approached her with his sickle sword drawn, and Vera stumbled to her feet, panting. As the Sand ninja lunged she caught his sword with the jagged edge of her own, forcing his arms down and kicking high at his head with her right leg in a roundhouse kick, swinging her body over their arms and smacking his head again with her left heel in a heel kick. Disengaging their swords as she landed in a crouch, Vera shoved upwards and pushed the man backwards.

As he began to get up, Vera's leg was already swinging down with a savage hammer kick, a blade sticking out of the heel of her boot and plunging into his cranium. The shinobi's skull cracked, and the blood trickled between his eyes as they rolled up and stilled.

Vera jerked her boot up and the man fell onto the floor with a thud. She looked up to see the civilians who had been awakened by the battle huddle together near the door, her jutsu still preventing them from escaping.

Ignoring them, Vera jumped through the hole in the ceiling into the room where her target was still tied up and silent, suffering in forced silence. Vera pulled her mask into its proper place, leaving red trails on the mask, before picking him up and dropped down into the main room.

The civilians gasped and whispered fearfully as Vera strung the target on a piece of rope from the inn's supplies and hung him high in the main room from the rafters. She took a second to close her eyes- _don't think, don't think_- and turned to the civilians, all of whom flinched visibly as a group.

_I'm sorry…_ Vera pulled her swords out and stalked towards the helpless group of people. "No loose ends." She murmured, and killed every one of the civilians.

_[~*~*~*]_

All four Root members sat at the back of the casino, pretending to nurse their drinks. Yuna and Sai sat on one side, while the other two members, Enmaru and Ohiro, sat on the other side. Their masks were off and they were in civilian clothes.

The tall and willowy Enmaru had a thin face, with almost round brown eyes and shaggy brown hair, his bangs casting his wide eyes into shadow. His chin showed some slight stubble, and there were crow's feet at the corners of his eyes, giving him a ragged appearance. He wore a loose green shirt and brown nin pants and sandals.

The shorter Ohiro was lean, but certainly more muscular than Enmaru. He wore a fitted, long-sleeved black shirt and black pants, and brown, knee-height boots. His eyes were narrow, irises gray. His dark blue hair was still pulled back into a ponytail, his bangs brushed to one side. There were several women at the bar eyeing him, much to Inner Sakura's amusement.

Sai was wearing a plain white shirt over blue jeans and brown boots. Yuna was wearing, to her displeasure, a light blue dress that ended at her knees, scuffed sneakers, and a light crème jacket.

"Do I really have to wear a dress?" Yuna mumbled, glaring down at the offending fabric. Apparently it was normal for Yuna to despise all things girly, so she was allowed to make such tomboyish comments.

Enmaru looked as if he hadn't heard at all, but that seemed to be the norm with this one. Ohiro actually looked up at Yuna, his eyes almost exasperated, despite his Root training. "Live with it." He muttered.

"You're here to pretend to be my girlfriend, since our target likes to steal women from their relationships." Sai gave his signature creepy smile and put his arm around Yuna's shoulders, pulling her close to his side. "Do you think this looks right?" he asked Ohiro.

"Your time with those Konoha nins is screwing with your head." Ohiro said as he sipped his drink.

"That's what I've been saying." Yuna muttered.

Sai just smiled creepily. Both Yuna and Ohiro looked at each other and shook their heads at their odd teammate.

"Here comes Zaku." Enmaru interrupted, and they all glanced out of the corners of their eyes at the man. He was in his forties, pale green hair in a braid hanging over his right shoulder, and a long black coat over his shinobi ensemble.

As if they were never there, the table was suddenly empty. Zaku always traveled with a team of rogue shinobi, so Ohiro and Enmaru had left to hunt down these shinobi and attempt to take them out as quickly and quietly as possible.

Sai and Yuna, the happy couple, walked by their target, seemingly lost in each other's eyes, both wearing faint smiles. Sai had an arm slung over her shoulders, and Yuna had her arm around his waist. She felt Zaku's eyes follow her as the pair approached the door to the restaurant.

"I'm going to run the restroom." Sai murmured to Yuna, turning to leave.

Yuna smiled back at him. "I'll wait for you outside!" she called sweetly.

Then Yuna slipped out the door, feeling the chakra signature of Zaku follow her into the street. Seemingly oblivious, Yuna chose to lean against the corner of an alley way next to the establishment she had just left. Zaku's chakra appeared behind her, and suddenly Yuna found herself pushed against the brick wall, a hand against her mouth, the dusky light cast them into shadow.

"Good evening, lovely Miss." Zaku murmured, licking the shell of her ear.

Her heartbeat sped up as he shifted his hold on her wrists above her head to one hand, the other hand sliding down her side. He brushed her breast, making her gasp, down her side, gripping her hip tightly, before his hand went to her knee and began to trail up her thigh.

Wasn't he supposed to have been a friend of Tsunade's? Yuna had not been expecting anyone actually malicious. Yet it seemed this man was intent on raping her. Maybe using the term 'friend' had been in sarcasm.

In a smooth movement Yuna's senbon was speeding to the junction in his neck, intending to paralyze him. But Zaku quickly ducked, and used her momentum to spin Yuna around and slam her front into the brick wall, twisting her arms behind her.

Yuna growled as Zaku chuckled. "I had a feeling you were a kunoichi. No headband though. Where are you from?"

She attempted to slam her foot into his, but he easily stepped out of the way. In that distraction Yuna broke free, and the two shinobi began to brawl in the alleyway, the sounds of punches and grunts warding off civilians. Yuna cursed the loose fabric of her dress when, in a dirty move, Zaku grabbed the hem and yanked her to the ground. Seemingly out of nowhere he produced chakra-absorbing cuffs, and quickly cuffed her wrists.

Yuna let out a shriek of indignation. To add to the embarrassment, he used an earth jutsu to hold down her arms and legs. With a lecherous smirk Zaku kneeled between her legs, one hand grabbing her neck to prevent her from talking. As his other hand brushes her thigh, Yuna became extremely pissed.

"Get the fuck off of me!" she managed to howl around his choke hold.

In that moment Zaku's head was slammed by a foot, the heel grinding his face into the ground as ink snakes slithered onto Zaku's limbs and turned into ropes. Sai quickly broke the restraints on Yuna, who shot up and slammed her senbon non-to-gently into a pressure point to knock out Zaku.

"That won't happen again." Sai said quietly.

Yuna turned to Sai, and then bowed her head in shame and weakness. "No, it won't."

"Good." Sai said, and Yuna was reminded that he was still her captain, and this was Root. There was no room for weakness. They didn't keep weak links, and Sai could not protect her if she wasn't able to adapt to this new fighting style. She couldn't afford to fall back on Sakura's techniques.

Picking up Zaku, Sai led them back to where they would meet up with the rest of the group. Yuna attempted to wipe as much dirt as possible off her dress, shaking the dust out of her hair, and, when no one was watching, healed any minor cuts and bruises that wouldn't be noticed missing.

"You didn't have to puncture him so deeply, Yuna." Enmaru muttered when he took a look at Zaku. His movements told her how irritated he was, since he was the interrogator of their unit.

The rest of the night was spent in silence as each Root member fell into their emotionless habits. Ohiro had purchased two rooms for the night, Enmaru and Ohiro sleeping in one room together (with their captive thrown carelessly onto the floor, much to Yuna's delight), and Yuna and Sai in another room.

Sai took his shower first, unabashedly walking out of the bathroom with just a towel around his waist. Yuna ignored him with ease, turning away as he dressed to gather her own towel and undergarments. Since she had joined the Root division, she found that the operatives really had no idea of privacy. They all slept in their undergarments, slept with no separation between the sexes (even if there were no feelings to worry about), and really the only separation were the communal showers for men and women at the base.

As Yuna turned on the shower, the heated water hitting her back in a soothing manner, she let out a tired sigh. The relaxing sensation of water slowly trickling into her hair and down her skin until she was soaked eased the tension of her muscles. Holding up a hand, Yuna stared at the unfamiliar digits, longer and paler than she was used to. As memories of the day assaulted her, Yuna hurriedly washed her hair and body with angry movements, as if to release the anger building inside.

But the thought of what almost happened today…

Yuna slid down to the floor of the shower, her body shivering despite the heated water. She wrapped her arms around her body and felt a stinging sensation in her eyes. It wasn't just almost being raped. It was the constant vigilance, the paranoia, always thinking five steps before her every action, suspicious of everyone she met, unable to confide in even herself. She had locked away her heart, and it was such a painful thing to do, to pretend she didn't care about the blood on her hands because _goddammit_ she did care. Vera came to mind…

There were two soft knocks on the door.

Yuna looked up as Sai entered the bathroom without a word, wearing only the slacks that he wore to bed. He looked down at her through the glass of the shower. She swore she had imagined it, but for a moment his eyes seemed to soften, before his face was impassive and blank as the mask they all wore on a daily basis.

She didn't move as Sai opened the door, reached in, and turned the water off. He turned back to the counter to grab the Yuna's towel, and proceeded to wrap her body in the fabric. Yuna didn't resist as Sai picked up her naked body, his face showing no emotion as he carried her to her bed.

Sai laid her onto the body as if she would break, staring impassively into her dark charcoal eyes. When he turned to grab her clothes, Yuna's hand shot out to latch onto his arm. No words were exchanged as Sai sat down next to her on the bed. She curled into the towel, not caring about her nakedness at the moment.

Sai leaned down, whispering, "The way you acted with Zaku… Are you a virgin?"

She looked away and nodded. It wasn't a good thing in an organization like Root. They couldn't afford their women becoming attached to such a romantic notion; in fact she was willing to bet none of the Root operatives were virgins.

His hand brushed her shoulder. She knew what had to happen tonight. Sai took a moment to cast a soundproofing jutsu on the room, and at the same time she cast a henge on herself to make her look like herself. He giving her a questioning look. She nodded, giving Sai a soft smile. She wanted to do this as Sakura.

"I trust you, Sai." She whispered, and it was true, now more than ever. Not another word was exchanged as he gently peeled away the towel and traced the curve of her jaw.

There were no emotions involved other than complete trust. He handled her as if she were precious, delicate. He was gentler than she could have imagined, giving her reassuring kisses even if the expression on his face rarely changed. Sai was considerate to make it enjoyable for her, as if he knew this was shattering every romantic notion she had ever had as a girl. There was no passion, no love, and Sai kissed the tear tracks on her face as she wept for the loss. She couldn't help but smile at his sweetness, and she was thankful to him for that. Their movements were slow, careful, as if both of them were on the brink of breaking. And as they came, Sai pulled her to him, as if he could protect her from the truth of the moment.

**Yes, that is Sai and Sakura having sex. No they are not a couple now. This was strictly for shinobi purposes. And Sai was the logical answer, no strings attached. And I always liked the notion of Sai being Sakura's confidant. Dunno, I think Sai is just sweet in that twisted way of his ^_^ I actually plan for Sakura to be paired with Sasuke by the end of this story, but you never know. Tell me your thoughts on who Sakura should be paired with in your REVIEWS.**

**The plot barrier has broken! I worked long and hard to finish planning out the plot for this story, so now this story is back on track! :D**

**Next chapter will be mostly in Itachi's POV. Hopefully. Now to update ****It's In Her Eyes****…**

**~Lilithia**


	8. Memories

**DISCLAIMER BECAUSE THIS IS FANFICTION I MEAN SERIOUSLY**

**Hi everyone! I know I said I'd get this out last weekend, but hey! At least it's here. I am gradually getting back into Fanfiction, so consider my hiatus over!**

* * *

><p><span><em>Chapter Eight- Memories<em>

It was odd to be alone in the cottage once more. Not that Itachi was a stranger to being alone. He had been solo for most of his life, isolated from his peers, shunned by the other Konoha nins, and even within the Akatsuki they had only tolerated each other for the sake of the pay and a good kill. He had never been close to anyone except Shisui- and that ended about as well as a match and a warehouse full of C4. Sasuke had been too young to see anything other than his infallible brother, and Itachi had only ever trusted Kisame enough to watch his back.

The closest Itachi had ever come to the bonds of teammates had been his ANBU team; they had been respected comrades, where one's individual strength and skill was all they judged you on. It didn't matter how old he was, if he was slightly (or majorly) emotionally stunted, scarred, and no emotion at all. No one in ANBU was quite normal; they all understood that everyone had their own way of coping with the horrors that they dealt with on a daily basis.

Itachi shook his head and looked back at what his hands were doing. His water bottle was finished refilling under the sink and he shut the tap off. The Uchiha screwed the top on as he walked back to through the house to the front door. Ruko, the lazy cat, was asleep under the sunny as Itachi walked onto the porch, sipping some water before he set the bottle aside and began to stretch his arms.

He had been working out all day. It was the first time since before the battle against Sasuke, and Itachi was not pleased. He had gone weeks without a workout due to his injuries, and he was light-years behind his previous strength. He had woken up early that morning to run five times around the perimeter of the meadow that the cottage was situated in, and after that he had been surprised to find himself winded. Ruko had taken to watching over Itachi after the Uchiha had fainted under the hot sun, pushing himself too hard in his impatience.

While Itachi's body was not handling the abuse well, he was glad to once again stretch his limbs and feel the burn of hard work. As the sun reached its peak and the day was at his hottest, Itachi took a step back in his training to focus on his sight and aim. Whatever that Vera woman had done to heal him, it had worked wonders. He chest no longer tightened painfully when he was running, and no longer was he coughing up phlegm all through the night. No more coughing, no more bouts of weakness, no more dizzy spells.

Unfortunately, his sight was only partly healed. Vera had outright forbidden him to use his Sharingan during training, and had made him promise to adhere to her order. He had silently scoffed at first, but she had somehow sensed his unconcern, and threatened- in her words- 'to make that goddamn Uchiha write a binding oath in blood'. She was an unusual woman that was for sure. Itachi furrowed his brows as he practiced his aim, thinking over his predicament. It wasn't like he could leave the grounds of Vera's abode. There were so many complicated seals around the meadow, and he knew that he could not leave the area without Vera. Something in the seals turned him away every time he tried to cross them.

He wondered where Sasuke was now. Did he return home to Konoha? As much as Itachi had hoped for such an occurrence, he somehow had the feeling that this was not the case. An even darker thought slithered into his head. What if Madara had sunk his claws into Sasuke? Itachi's brother would have been vulnerable after his battle, and if Vera had not seen him then where did the younger Uchiha go? He would have been too weak to leave so soon after such a battle.

Itachi closed his eyes and sighed, pressing a few fingers to his forehead. A wave of hunger hit him, and he quickly collected his weapons and returned to the cottage, leaning on Ruko as the large cat rose to support his body. It was only after he relaxed that Itachi realized how tired his body was. Ruko escorted Itachi to the kitchen, where they both ate lunch in comfortable silence.

His body had minute trembles as he showered, the water blasting the sweat off of his body. Itachi leaned against the tile of the shower, closing his eyes as he followed every slow trail of the water droplets scattered across his skin. He missed having a home. This place- it wasn't quite familiar, but here he was safe. It was not the Akatsuki base, not some shady inn where they asked no questions- here he was human. Not a criminal, not a feared and ruthless killer. Human.

With so much of his mind at peace, it was hard to keep the thoughts he had not entertained in so long from creeping into his head. Konoha. Memories that he had long forgotten were resurfacing. The dango stand across from Ichiraku Ramen. His mother's cooking. His favorite training grounds. The oddly pink haired girl at Sasuke's academy class. Playing chess with Shisui. Reading on his bedroom window seat as rain showered Konoha in a rare summer storm. His bewildered emotions the first time he found Kakashi reading his porn. Missions that he had never thought important. People. Places. So many were only images, the smells and sounds of such memories long faded. Faces that he no longer remembered the names to. And there were so many names that he had forgotten. Like his first ANBU captain and ANBU female teammate.

His first ANBU captain had died in a fatal mission. He still remembered how sad he felt when the man had taken a death blow meant for the much young and less experienced Itachi, who had not seen the enemy sneak up on his blind side. He had felt survivors guilt for a week, internalizing it so no one would see.

But she had seen right through him. She always did. His female teammate that he had forgotten the name of. She could always read people so well, Itachi remembered. Ibiki had wanted to recruit her into the Torture and Interrogation unit, and Itachi had been astonished to find himself relieved that she had declined the position. Memories of that kunoichi were filled with a warmth that Itachi had thought burned out. He remembered a spitfire, a petite hellcat that had wasted no time slapping sense back into the morose Uchiha (literally, Kakashi had been there to witness and had giggled shamelessly behind his mask), and telling him that it was not his fault. 'Those who abandon their teammates are worse than scum' Kakashi had put in after the kunoichi was finished snapping Itachi back into shape.

Itachi chuckled aloud and began to wash his hair. He wondered what Kakashi was up to nowadays. How ironic that the man had become his brother's sensei. Kami knows how terrible Kakashi had always been with kids. People often saw the shinobi's aloof attitude as suave coolness, but really Kakashi was generally awkward if forced to talk with strangers. Needless to say, it had been the diplomatic kunoichi of their team had spoken for their team on missions. She had not trusted Itachi's and Kakashi's collectively insulting and arrogant demeanors to not cause an international incident.

Turning off the water, Itachi slowly exited the shower, drying his body off before wrapping the towel around his waist. He paused to glance in the mirror, dark black eyes roving over the scars that littered his body. His muscle mass had returned, no longer were his ribs protruding from his torso like some emancipated corpse. All he had to do now was tone his muscles again, which he was doing religiously everyday now that Vera said he could train. His hair was much longer now, falling down between his shoulder blades, and the lines around his face had eased greatly since his health had been restored. In all, Itachi looked ten years younger, and he was pleased with how fast he was healing.

A yawn took the Uchiha by surprise and he remembered how tired he was. So without bothering with clothes, the young shinobi left the bathroom and returned to his bedroom, crawling under the sheets and drifting off to blissful sleep.

_[~*~*~*]_

Vera took her time returning to the Kagete base. It would look better on her if the news of her target's death reached Takama's ears first. He always loved to hear the fearful whispers of his organization swirling around after a fresh kill. The narcissist.

Currently Vera was walking alone down the road leading from Nebu to Tea's capital, Debana. In the pitch darkness and the still air that seemed to follow her, she was undetectable in the dark. She was not worried about being attacked. Bandits found no value in a lone traveler, and her cloak hid her gender so they would not be tempted by the fact that she was female. Vera was tempted to take her porcelain mask off in the darkness, and the crack that slid from the top of it down about three-quarters of an inch of the forehead part was annoying, she could feel the cooler air sneaking through the crevice. However she resisted the urge. One never wanted to be caught unaware.

It was so quiet, accept for the wind in the trees and a few cicada off in the distance, and once in a while she heard a frog. Nothing more. So much silence. Her life was a lot like this night: surrounded by darkness, allowing life to pass her by. Sometimes Vera wondered if her soul was dead within her. She was so lonely.

"_He… He's… Gone." She whispered brokenly, staring at the empty plate in front of her._

_All around her the sound of chattering customers filled the restaurant. The sun beamed down through the sparse clouds in the sky. The birds were tweeting, the children were laughing in the streets of the city, horse-drawn wagons and travelers passed through shopping district. For everyone else, it was a lovely day, not too hot or humid._

_But for her, the world was crumbling._

"_I'm sorry, Vera." The man across form her spoke. "He put up one hell of a battle though. Stubborn guy."_

_Hikoto was her contact from Ame, a nondescript man with an average looking face, lazy brown eyes, and limp and shaggy brown hair. He was a face that could pass a person by a dozen times and still not be recognized. He was one of her best contacts, for information was a deadly game when it came to Amegakure._

_**No, not my contact. Jaraiya's.**__ She corrected herself as she clenched her fingers in her lap, out of sight from Hikoto. Her disguise for this city currently displayed her as a redhead, medium length hair pulled into a ponytail, a heart shaped face with tanned skin and almond brown eyes. Hikoto only ever chose to speak in public places, such as this tea house. As he indulged in yet another stick of dango, washing it down with his tea, Vera contemplated what to do now._

_Her chair scraped against the floor as she hurriedly stood up, face blank. With a muttered 'thank you', she rushed out of the restaurant and into the streets, walking blindly through the maze of buildings until she found herself back at the hotel she was currently living out of. Biting her lip in an effort to hold her emotions in check, Vera hurried to her room._

_The moment the hotel room's door closed behind her, her henge ceased, and Vera was ripping off her mask and throwing it across the room, though it landed safely on a cushioned chair, much to her displeasure. She wanted to break something, tear something, anything to get rid of the burning ache in her chest._

_There was a mirror hanging on the wall beside her, and just as she caught a glimpse of skin and chocolate hair, her fist had slammed into the glass, and she kept slamming it until the fragments were no longer big enough to show her a reflection, although she avoided glancing into them anyway._

"_Dammit!" she screamed as she stumbled to the bed and curled up on it, cradling her face with bloody fingers, her body shaking as she held in her traitorous tears._

Jaraiya had been her last source of direction. After the Sandaime had died, the old coot had apparently left a message to Jaraiya via a monkey summon. The animal summon had been given the letter years earlier, and was told by Sarutobi that if he should ever die an untimely death, the information was to be given to Jaraiya. The Toad Sage had been given a brief overview of Vera's mission, and was told that if he wanted answers, to seek Vera out.

Of course, Jaraiya had always had crazy luck when it came to finding those who did not want to be found. Sarutobi had absolutely no idea of Vera's whereabouts, and yet with his ear to the ground, Jaraiya had managed to track down the Black Cat.

Vera felt her lips tug in a smile at the memory of their first encounter.

_[~*~*~*]_

"_You looking to give me a job?" a sultry voice drawled from the shadows in the corner of the bar._

_Jaraiya, in a poor henge that only served to deceive the non-shinobi populous of the Debana underground city, turned his head in her direction. He currently appeared to be a tall and broad man, whose face was constantly hidden behind the glare of a pair of large, geeky glasses, with wild gray hair pulled into a messy ponytail. He wore a red coat over his black undershirt, khaki slacks, and his nin sandals._

"_You're the one who has been watching me." He deadpanned, taking a seat across from her. The mysterious woman chuckled from behind her mask, leaning back to cross her booted legs on the table and motioning for a waitress to bring him a drink. She could tell the old man was taking things seriously if he wasn't even drooling over her legs._

"_Well," she began, "You're the one who has been asking around for the Black Cat. And I'm always careful about who my customers are. I trust no one."_

_Jaraiya took a moment to wink lecherously at the waitress as she set down his, who huffed as she gave him the cold shoulder. Turning back to the unnerving masked assassin, Jaraiya couldn't help but curse his mentor. All the sexy kunoichi were the coldest and meanest. His thoughts briefly turned to Tsunade. The Black Cat definitely fell into the 'deadly col-hearted kunoichi' category, judging from the fact that she was actually wearing armor that left no part of her body exposed. Kunoichi rarely wore any kind of armor; this lady was just plain badass. _

"_Such a shame." Jaraiya spoke, taking a sip of his drink before continuing. "Most Leaf are known for their sunny disposition."_

_He felt blood drip from his neck as a ruthlessly jagged sword found its tip at his jugular. Jaraiya couldn't help but notice that the bar patrons began to talk louder as if to better ignore the evil aura emanating from the corner._

"_I will allow you one word to persuade me why I shouldn't kill you." An evil hiss that would put Orochimaru to shame escaped from behind the panther mask, dark orbs glinting through the eye slits._

_Jaraiya gulped at her viciousness, the blade drawing more blood with the action. Shit! This lady was supposed to have been a Konoha shinobi?! Perhaps Sarutobi had failed to mention Root training or something! "Sarutobi." Jaraiya gasped._

_The sword slowly lowered from his neck._

"_Fool." She muttered, in one graceful move slipping out of her chair and grabbing his shoulder, flash-stepping them both out of the tavern before Jaraiya could protest._

"_Oof!" Jaraiya rubbed his sore bottom as he found himself unceremoniously dropped in an alley beside the tavern. He looked up to see that the woman known as the Black Cat was already walking away from him and towards the street. Jaraiya took a moment to take in the view of her luscious ass before he scrambled to his feet to follow her._

_She walked purposefully out into the under city, the crowds parting with one look at her threatening mask. Jaraiya glanced up at the ceiling of the cavern, stretching at least 70 feet up to support the city above them. Though it was the capital of Tea, Debana was close to the Iwa border, and their environments were quite alike. Debana was a city built over a large cave system. The builders of the city reinforced the main underground passages, making Debana a city built in layers, with a ground level and two underground levels. The city's underground extensions were lit by what was probably the most extensive electric lighting system in several countries. It was too bad the underground levels were too dangerous to be appreciated. Crime and the black market flourished here, in the dimly lit corners of the city, and there were many unmapped caverns that remained secret except to the criminals that resided in them._

"_H-Hey!" Jaraiya hurried his steps to catch up to the Black Cat. "Where are we going?"_

_The woman didn't so much as glance at him as she turned a corner, navigating the undercity until they reached one of the stairwells that led up to the ground level. "Be quiet. It's too dangerous to talk in this city."_

_Jaraiya shut his mouth with a snap of his jaw and followed the woman up to the ground level of the city, taking a deep breath of the fresh hair. The Black Cat turns and heads out to the outskirts of the city, her cold aura bright amidst the grey and dismal faces reflected back from the locals. The villagers were hunched and wearing drab colored clothes, obviously to not draw attention from the copious population of criminals that walked freely and confidently through the streets. There was no law in Tea._

_The mysterious assassin led Jaraiya to the farthest inn from the city center, raising her hand to tell Jariya to wait where he stood. Without hesitation the Black Cat entered the stables and, ten minutes later, walked out with two horses, both bays with black manes and tails and dark chestnut coats. The animals were saddled with minimal equipment, with only their saddles and reins. Jaraiya was pretty sure she had just walked in and stole those horses, but he had a feeling she had no reservations about thievery, and so with only a raise of his eyebrow, he mounted one of the steeds. The Black Cat pulled out a rope and connected the horses so that Jaraiya's steed would follow hers. She handed him a blindfold._

"_Um… No." Jaraiya frowned. "I like the kinky stuff and all, but I prefer to see where I'm going."_

"_It's this or chloroform." The masked woman deadpanned. "I am not showing you the path to my safehouse."_

_Sighing, Jaraiya did as he was told, tying the fabric in a knot behind his head and gripping the horse's reins until his knuckles were white as he felt the animal begin to move underneath him. He had ridden horses before of course, but doing it blindfolded put him on edge. He kept sending out stead y and miniscule pulses of the chakra to make sure no one would sneak up on him._

_After a few attempts to start a conversation with the Black Cat, Jaraiya gave up and remained silent. If it weren't for her chakra signature that she did not bother to hide, Jaraiya might think that he had been tricked._

_He counted up to thirty minutes until he felt the horses slowing down. They must have been about four or five miles away from civilization. He heard the Black Cat dismount from her saddle and took that as his cue to let go of his reins and unfold his blindfold. His eyes adjusted to the dusk light, blinking as he regarded the trees around them. Glancing up at the sun, Jaraiya gaged that they had headed southwest of the city._

"_We go on foot from here." The Black Cat spoke softly._

_Jaraiya ungracefully stumbled off his horse, shaking a his legs to loosen them. "What of the horses?" he asked her._

"_My Summons needed food anyway." The Black cat shrugged._

_Jaraiya shivered at the heartless comment. The kunoichi was already walking through the foliage, Jaraiya followed reluctantly, glancing back at the unsuspecting horses that had begun grazing on the forest floor._

"_What are you Summons?" He asked the assassin._

"_Black Panthers." The woman answered. Jaraiya's brow furrowed as he tried to remember if the Black Panthers had ever signed a contract with a shinobi before. He wasn't sure._

_The first thing he felt as they stepped into the clearing was the tell-tale ripple of a chakra shield, rippling through his senses. The trees in his vision blurred and he became dizzy, black spots dancing before his eyes. The chakra barrier stripped his henge off, and his usual outfit appearing on his body, his gray hair lightening to white and elongating to its original length, and his glasses disappearing. The kunoichi tapped her finger to his forehead, releasing him from the genjutsu trap._

"_So, Jaraiya the Toad Sage and Sannin? Sarutobi __**would **__send you, wouldn't he?" She studied his true image, sounding amused. "Regardless, I will be forced to kill you if you tell anyone of this refuge." The Black Cat didn't sound too heartbroken over the fact._

"_Um… Thanks… I guess." Jaraiya muttered, and then fell silent as he gazed at the scene before him. He was surprised to find a quaint cottage before him, accompanied by a vegetable garden. It was oddly homely for an infamous assassin._

"_Follow me." The Black Cat said lowly, leading Jaraiya down the path to the stairs of the front porch. A growl shocked the Sannin as he glanced to his right and watched in awe as the gigantic panther emerged from under the shade of the porch deck._

"_My Lady. Welcome back." The jade-eyed feline bowed his head regally before its feral eyes regarded Jaraiya. "Who is this?"_

"_Jaraiya of the Sannin." The kunoichi answered as she opened the door. The panther blinked in surprise, but soon returned his attention to the nap which had been interrupted by their arrival._

"_As long as he doesn't make any trouble." The cat growled, closing its eyes._

_Jaraiya entered the cottage and took off his sandals, glancing around the oddly impersonal room. Plain furniture, few colors, and zero personal objects. It was as if the Black Cat didn't exist, and the cottage was waiting for a family to move in to bring life to its rooms._

"_Sit." The assassin offered politely, her voice toneless. She sat down in one of the cushion chairs next to the sofa. Jaraiya chose the cushion chair opposite her, the coffee table filling the few feet separating them._

"_So, you are the one that Sarutobi left this mission to." The woman spoke first. "I thought for sure that after his death I would be forgotten."_

"_As far as I know, I am the only person alive who knows your secret, Black Cat." Jaraiya said._

"_Please," the kunoichi waved her hand. "Call me Vera."_

_Jaraiya nodded. "Vera. It's a pleasure to meet you."_

_Vera chuckled. "I'm sure." She said blandly. "What do you know about my mission, Jaraiya-san?"_

_At this, the Sannin's eyes took on a stern glint and his face smoothed until he showed little emotion. "You are a spy. Which is odd, I thought I had known every spy Konoha had. Even stranger that no one in my extensive intelligence network knows of you except by your code name."_

_Absently tapping her nails on the armrest of her chair, the woman regarded the shinobi from behind her mask. "I assume you know the truth of the Uchiha Massacre."_

"_Yes. That was- is- an unpleasant stain on the honor of Konoha." Jaraiya winced. Then his eyes snapped to her mask. "How do you know?"_

_For the first time that day, Jaraiya could read a bit of her body language as the Black Cat shifted in what seemed to be discomfort, her head bowing as she faced her lap. "The Hokage-" she cleared her throat, "I mean, Sarutobi-sama, once told me that I would be his redemption. So, here I am."_

_Jaraiya lifted his eyebrow. "You mean he wanted to use you to fix his mistakes?"_

_Vera let out a harsh and bitter laugh before replying, "I guess so."_

"_What did he expect? How are you supposed to do that?" Jaraiya frowned. Sarutobi had always been a hard man to predict, with that analytical mind of his. Jaraiya swore that the Third had Nara blood in him or something._

_The lady across from him heaved a great sigh, resting her chin in her hand as her long nails tapped softly against the porcelain mask. "Sometimes I ask myself the same question."_

It had been Jaraiya who had laid the protective seals around the cottage. He was a master at the art of sealing, although Vera had never truly appreciated the art until he had come along. Her cottage basically existed outside of this realm, apart from the world. A stranger attempting to enter its grounds would find themselves instantly transported on the other side, none the wiser. Only Vera's genetic key allowed her into the grounds. It was unnecessary for her animal summons, since they already had the power to cross from their world to hers. It was easier to move around with her safehouse under such seals. Her shelter was practically transportable since all she had to do was a lay down the right seals and make a couple hand signs.

That was how she had been able to reach Itachi so quickly. She had been following his trail ever since she had heard rumors of the impending duel between the infamous brothers. Even a genin would have been able to sense the great battle being waged as she approached the general area of the battle. She had quickly created a portal to her safehouse, and then using one of her many handy-dandy storage scrolls to create an impromptu camp in the nearby cave. She had hoped she would have been able to heal Itachi herself, but alas, fate was not so kind.

Vera had not wanted to involve Sakura, but her healing skills were only what she had been forced to learn as a rogue ninja to keep herself alive. Itachi had needed a miracle. Vera sighed and took to the trees, leaping form limb to limb as her thoughts went in circles. Running relieved the tensing muscles and lessened her boredom in the dark night.

But now that Sakura was involved, Vera knew that the time had come. A premonition slid down her spine as she imagined all of fate's pieces on a chessboard in their place, making ready for the final play. The Uchiha, Haruno, and Shiuta, a new Hokage, an old enemy, and the conspiring Council were all present. Things had been set in motion, and for all her careful years of planning, Vera did not know if she was ready to watch it all fall into place.

* * *

><p><strong>Hm. Lots of pondering in this chapter haha.<strong>

**I miss Jaraiya. I wish he had never died in canon.**

**But whatever, no one cares about canon anymore, FF is so much cooler. Please review!**

**Lots O' Love,**

**Lilithia**


	9. Author's Note

_**NO STOP COME BACK PLEASE READ**_

So I know that for many of you this alert got your hopes up. And I am truly sorry for that (I hate when my favorite authors do that too!). But please listen to me.

I have updated my Bio Page.

On there is a _**letter to all of you** _(each and every treasured reader)

_**Please go read it**_ (it is under the updating progress section)**  
><strong>

I love all of you.

Thank you all so much for all the support and interest.

This is not goodbye.

I'll be back...


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